Easy as 1,2,3
by Cap'NCupcake
Summary: She never would have thought that she would fall for him. I mean, he's Travis Stoll. She's Katie Gardner. They weren't supposed to go together. And yet they do. 26 Tratie fics, one for each letter of the alphabet.
1. A is for Antibiotics

"Did you get the medicine?" Katie asked hurriedly as Travis came in through the front door. Mary hadn't been feeling very well earlier in the day but the parents wrote it off as nothing. As soon as she learned how to talk, Mary loved to moan and complain about every little thing. Turned out that she actually wasn't feeling good, but they figured that out just a bit too late. While Katie threw the puke filled bed sheets into the washer, she had her husband go out to Circle K to get some antibiotics for the five year old.

"You sent me to the store to get medicine, so why wouldn't I come back with medicine?" he groaned, holding up the bag. Travis loved being a father, more than he loved tacos. But when he had to wake up at two in the morning to go and get some way-too-expensive medicine Mary was only going to need once, he was not the biggest fan of parenthood. Hearing his daughter up chuck half of the organs in her body didn't really make him want to dance with joy.

Katie rolled her eyes, grabbed the medicine and ran back up the stairs, Travis right behind her. As he neared the bedroom, he heard the small murmur of "_Mommy_" that just broke his heart.

"I'm coming, sweetie," Katie said nicely, quickly walking in to the bedroom. Travis came to a stop in the doorway, and watched as she sat on the bed to feed the girl medicine. Travis couldn't help the small shiver that ran down his back. Katie was dressed in gray sweatpants and one of his old T-shirts with some picture from World of Warcraft. It was a gift from Katie for his birthday that one year he was strangely obsessed with that game. Katie's hair was a complete rat's nest, she had no makeup on, and her stomach was as large as a basketball. She was the most gorgeous thing he'd ever seen.

"How are you feeling?" he asked Mary, walking over to feel her forehead for a fever.

"Yucky," she mumbled. Snot was dripping from her nose and her small lips were terribly chapped.

"Well this'll fix it all up," Katie said, finally opening the bottle and pouring some of its contents into the measuring cup.

Mary's face scrunched up in disgust. "I don't like medicine."

"Come on, baby," Travis cooed. "After you take that, you'll fell all better."

"But it's gross!" She huffed and crossed her arms moodily.

Katie and Travis sighed in unison and glanced at each other. They sent each other silent messages, begging one another to try first. Ever since they had first started going out, they had been able to understand what the other was thinking just from a few glances. Mary sat and stared. Travis shook his head. "But I went first last time!" he whispered loudly. There really was no need to whisper. Mary could still hear.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Fine," she mumbled. "You're such a baby sometimes, Travis, I swear." She turned back to Mary with the medicine still in her hand. "Just drink this, Mary, for Mommy."

After clamping her mouth shut, invisibly zipping her mouth closed, locking it, and throwing away the key, she shook her head. Katie sighed. She hated stupid kindergarten teachers for teaching her that motion. She never knew why they told the kids to do that. It never kept them quiet. Until now, of course.

"Please, honey, just take it. It'll make you feel all better." She had also learned to be persistent. Katie decided to blame that on the teacher too. It sure as hell wasn't her fault. It wasn't. At all. When Mary shook her head once again, Katie glanced back up at Travis, begging him. He shook his head with a small smile on his face. Sometimes she just wanted to punch him.

"Come on, Mary, it's not _that _bad."

"Yeah huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Yeah huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Yeah huh."

"Nuh u-" Katie stopped, and shook her head. "Amaryllis Lily Stoll, you will take this medicine right now whether you like it or not." She didn't raise her voice, but the sharpness of her tone was extremely noticeable. Mary's lower lip began to tremble. Katie's angry expression turned to one of guilt. "Baby, I'm so sorry. I -"

"How bout I take over from here?" Travis asked as he came over and took Katie's shoulders, forcing her to stand up.

"I didn't mean to. I-"

Travis shushed her and looked into her eyes. "It's okay, it's okay. I'll take care of it."

"But you always have to take care of her. I never do anything. I'm a terrible mother. I don't deserve to have another baby. I'll probably kill it cuz it won't take its medicine and then it'll die and it'll be all my fault and-"

He shushed her once again. "Katie, Katie, Katie. Calm down." He rubbed her arms and pushed her hair over her ear. "You are the best mother I have ever met. You're sweet, and kind, and caring, and just wow. I've never met another mom who could look as sexy as you do in sweatpants. You will _not _kill our next child no matter what. Besides, Child Protection Services would get it before you could kill it."

She moaned and hid her face in his chest. "That wasn't funny." Her voice was slightly muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

"I know, I just couldn't think of anything else to say." They stood in silence for a bit longer. The only sound was from Travis's hand going around in circles on Katie's back. That, and the small snores coming from Mary's bed.

Katie stood up straight and glanced over at their daughter. There she was, asleep. She looked up at Travis. "She's asleep."

He smirked. "She's asleep."

"But she didn't even take the medicine . . ." She trailed off as she saw the small, empty cup on the table. Katie smiled. "Gods, I love her."

Travis turned her back around and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love Nyquil."

"Hear, hear."

* * *

This is not a one-shot, peoples! It's actually a twenty-six-shot! Yes, lucky yous all get twenty-five more chapters on Tratieness. I'm doing an ABC challenge, I guess you could call it. It kinda just came to me. I'm sure other people have done this before, but for Tratie? I think not. If you're still confused on what this ABC challenge is, seeing as I haven't even explained it, I will be doing a chapter for each letter of the alphabet. This one was A for Antibiotics, the next one's B for Birthdays, C for College, etc., etc. If you have any suggestions for ideas or what not, feel free to share! I've kind of planned out all of the letters, but I'm not a big fan of all of them and I've already changed like half of them. This one was originally called "Absent" but then it got chaged to "Aliens" which finally got changed to "Anitbiotics." As you can see, I'm welcome to change!

Goats. Goats are good for everything: birthday parties, you can eat em, swimming, preparing salads, cuddling (I snuggle with goats occasionally), sword fighting. I also like to mountain climb with goats on dangerous slopes. But you know what goats are really good for? Not owning Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Nyquil or anything else I mentioned up top! They're great at that. And so am I! I also don't own the alphabet, but oh my god that'd be so awesome! I'd put U and I together, just so people couldn't use that lame pick up line anymore.

Thanks so much to my BFFFF for betaing this for me and what not! Love ya!

All the cool kids review!

:) Jordan


	2. B is for Bubbles

"Ugh," Katie groaned once again as she got handed a plate covered in an unidentifiable substance she had never seen before. It smelled like ass and probably tasted like it too. With a shiver, she plunged it deep down into the sudsy water and scrubbed it with all her might. "This is all your fault, you know?"

"How is this my fault?" Travis asked with a scowl. He wasn't any more happy about this situation than she was. Yes, cleaning dishes with Katie was much more fun than doing it with his brother or by himself, but her complaining all the time about how much she hates him or how she was totally gonna punch him in the mouth later could get a little annoying after a while. "You're the one that threw that stupid spoon first."

"Excuse me, but Chiron declared this as a _food _fight and I'm pretty sure _you _were the first one to throw any food substances." She threw the now clean dish at him. He just barely caught it before it crashed to the floor. Travis glared at her but all she did was smile sweetly in response.

"_You _smashed soggy cereal in my face," he told her angrily, drying the dish with his dirty towel.

"Exactly. _Smashed_. You were the first one to _throw_," Katie said with a scowl, grabbing another plate from the stack and dumping it into the warm water sitting in the sink.

"You just like putting all the blame on me, don't you Gardner?"

"Well maybe if you left me alone, Stoll, and you weren't so damn annoying, I wouldn't have to."

"Well maybe if you weren't so damn fun to annoy." Travis met her glare with one of his own and took the wet plate she held out for him.

"I hate you, you know," Katie told him, flicking a piece of soggy food off her glove with a gag.

"The feeling's mutual, my friend." They worked in silence for a while, the only sound in the room the clanking of the dishes as they smacked against one another.

But then Travis started humming.

"What the hell are you doing?" Katie asked, rolling her eyes.

He looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Nothing," he said with a shake of the head but within seconds he continued his song.

"Oh my gods!" she exclaimed. "Shut up!"

"Make me," he taunted before humming even louder than before.

"Ugh!" Katie yelled. "You're the most annoying person in the world!"

"Oh, I've met more annoying people," Travis said with a smirk, looking down at her through his eyelashes.

She glared up at him angrily before scooping up a big handful of dirty dish water and soap and splashing it in his face.

His wet hair hang limply down in his eyes and his shirt collar was dark and damp. Travis ran a hand across his face angrily, allowing him to scowl down at her. "You did _not _just do that."

Katie stood up on her toes so she could see him eye to eye. "I just did," she whispered quietly with a smile.

Travis immediately put a gloved hand in the sink water and splashed it in Katie's face. She gasped loudly and covered her head. As Travis laughed, Katie splashed him once more. Within minutes, they were both soaking wet and soon out of dish water.

Katie grabbed the hose on the sink and sprayed it in his face. He quickly grabbed a plate and blocked his head while he frantically looked around for some type of weapon.

With a smirk, Travis grabbed the bottle of dish soap and set down the plate with a bang. Katie continued spraying him but he had a defense too.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, rubbing at her eyes after he squeezed the bottle and waved it around, getting her in the process. "You got it in my eyes!"

"That's what you get!" While she was busy rubbing soap off her face, Travis grabbed the hose out of her hand. He smiled and pointed both weapons at Katie.

"This so isn't fair," she said with a frown.

"I thought you would've known this by now," Travis started. "I don't do fair."

Katie squealed as he squirted the soap and sprayed the water both in her direction. She started to run away, around the corner and away from the crazy man with the deadly weapons, when she suddenly slipped on a puddle gathering on the ground. She screeched and fell to the floor with a thud.

A laughing Travis came around the corner with both his hands full when he, too, slipped in the puddle and landed on the floor with a gasp.

"_Ow_," he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head, the soap and hose long forgotten.

"You think?" Katie asked, holding the growing thump on her own forehead. "At least you had padding."

"Sorry 'bout that," Travis said sincerely, wincing as he moved over to give her some room.

"It's fine." She shook her head and looked out at the kitchen. The one they had slipped in was not the only puddle in the room. There was water everywhere, along with many bubbles and even a few pieces of broken glass from the dinner plates they had smashed. "We are so dead."

Travis chuckled and scanned the mess too. "It could be worse."

Katie whipped her head around to glare at him. "Why are you _laughing_?" she exclaimed angrily.

"How can you _not_ laugh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Um, I don't know. Maybe because we are going to be in _so much trouble_," she said with one of those 'Wow, you really are an idiot' looks she specifically saved for Stolls.

"Well, yeah, probably," Travis agreed. "But it's actually pretty funny if you think about. And once we get in trouble again, they'll probably make us paint the Big House or something. Can you imagine the mess we're gonna make then?"

Katie couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Or they'll make us clean out the Pegasus stables." Her smile grew when Travis guffawed loudly. "Fine," she said quietly. "Maybe this is a _little _funny."

He laughed again. "Told you." They sat in silence next to each other and just stared out at the mess they made, enjoying each others' company. "Hey, Katie?" Travis asked suddenly.

"Huh?" she responded, not looking away from the scene in front of them.

"What if they make us do our punishments separately?" he questioned, staring at her with curious eyes.

Katie looked over at him. "Well that wouldn't be any fun."

Ruining the semi-serious tone in the room, Travis gasped melodramatically and placed a hand over his heart. "Did I hear you correctly? Did you just say that you actually have fun doing punishments with _me_, Travis Stoll?"

She rolled her eyes and turned her head so she wouldn't have to look at that annoying little face of his. "Yes. So what if I did?"

"Nothing." He paused. "I'm just shocked that it's coming from you, Miss I Hate You With a Fiery Passion Deep Inside My Soul, that's all," he said with a shrug and a smile, turning towards the mess, too.

"Well maybe I was just over exaggerating. I do that sometimes." She sounded as stubborn as usual.

"It's fine, really . . . cuz I kinda think our punishments can be fun too." Travis's face flushed as he looked down at his lap.

"Really?" Katie couldn't help but smile a little and turn her head in his direction.

"Yeah." Biting his lip, he stared back at her nervously. With a nod, she faced the mess again.

"Well that's nice to hear coming from Mr. I'd Rather Being Tying My Balls to a Stool and Throwing it Against a Wall Right Now."

"Well maybe I like to over exaggerate too sometimes. You know I can be a drama queen." They laughed a bit and Katie shook her head.

"Look at us. Getting along," she said, her eyebrows scrunched together.

"Yeah . . . Is it just me or is it a little creepy?" Travis asked.

"Oh no, trust me. It's giving me the chills. . . . But I think I kinda like it." She turned to him once more with a smile and a blush.

"Yeah. Me too." He grinned and there was definitely a noticable flush to his cheeks, too. They sat once more in silence. But it wasn't one of those weird, awkward silences. It was actually nice and Katie kind of wished that they could sit there in that non-awkward silence forever.

But, of course, a familiar, "Hey Katie?" had to go and ruin it.

"Yeah?" she sighed.

"How pissed would you be right now if I took the hose and sprayed you in the face?" He didn't turn to look at her as he spoke so she didn't either.

"Oh, you don't wanna know how pissed I'd be," she told him simply.

"Oh. Okay. So it's perfectly fine then if I go like this, then." He quickly and swiftly slapped his hand across a small puddle of water sitting between them, soaking Katie and making her gasp loudly.

"I hate you, Stoll!"

He laughed. "Yeah. I know."

* * *

Again, don't you guys just love me?

Sorry if you liked the old B, but I was looking it over and it was just . . . ew. So you get this instead! Hopefully, you're kinda happy about that!

Oh, and I just thought I'd tell y'all that these aren't in any particular order. At all. Like, the last one was when they were married and had a kid and stuff. This is back when they absolutely HATE each other and stuff. These will be all the way to O for Old when they find gray hairs and what not to M for Meeting as in the very first time they met. And actually, this chapter is kind of an add on to O is for Oats. :)

This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter B. "**B**ad **b**oy!" **b**ellowed the **b**utcher while **b**arking at his **b**eaver. "**B**eaver **b**elievers know that I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, **B**arbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey, the DMV, Wal-Mart or anything at all, really. And you **b**elieve it!"

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	3. C is for College

"Come on, Travis," Conner whined, poking his brother in the chest. "She's leaving for _four years. _You'll probably never see her again."

"Shut up," he said, tapping the top of his soda can nervously.

"This is your only chance to do something about it. Get some balls, for once!"

"I said shut up!"

"You've loved her forever, and now she's leaving forever. You have to tell her."

"I don't have to do shit."

"It's not that hard. 'I love you! I want to spend the rest of my life with you! I-' "

"Am I interrupting something?" Both boys were startled by the voice. They turned around to find Katie standing in the doorway with a small smile on her face. Even though today was her last day at the camp, she was still wearing the dreaded orange shirt under her pink jacket.

"No," Conner said, straightening up and heading out the door. "I was just leaving." While passing by the girl, Conner turned and gave her a small hug. Travis couldn't help but be a bit pissed. How come _he _got a hug?

After Conner had left the room and mouthed 'Get some balls!' to his brother behind Katie's back, she stepped out of the doorway and into the middle of the room. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey," he whispered back. There really wasn't a need to whisper, but it just made them feel better. He stood up and went to the middle of the room, too. Their faces were only a few inches away, but Travis was trying really hard not to think about that.

"I'm leaving soon," mumbled Katie, while looking down at her feet. She was also trying not to think about their close proximity or the blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"I heard."

"I tried coming by earlier to say goodbye, but Conner said that you weren't here."

Travis blushed, too, when Katie looked up and their eyes met. "I went out to the gas station to fill up the camp van. Chiron asked me to."

"That's good." There was a long silence, but it wasn't really awkward. It was comforting and nice, and Travis enjoyed it. He wished that they could stay like that forever, just the two of them, standing in the middle of the Hermes cabin in blissful silence.

"I don't want you to go," he whispered, blushing an even darker red.

Katie smiled a sad smile. "I don't really want to go, either. This place is my home. It has all my friends and family. I don't wanna leave."

"You can still come for Spring Break, and Christmas, and summer and stuff, though, right?"

She shrugged. "My dad wants me to start spending more time with him. He said that we were never really together during my childhood so he wants to fix it."

Travis snorted, making Katie smile a bit. "It's not your fault that your dad's an ass and he never paid any attention to you so you had to come here. Why does he want to fix it now?"

She chuckled. "I don't know."

They stayed in that quiet peace for a bit longer before Katie held out her arms. Travis went into them gratefully. He had been wanting to hug her ever since he went through puberty, got hormones, and realized how beautiful Katie had become. It was just how he imagined it, but ten times better. She smelled like flowers - what would you expect from a daughter of Demeter? - and a slight hint of marshmallows. Her arms were soft around his upper back, and he gasped slightly when the tips of her fingers touched his neck. The tips of her dark hair brushed his face. It tickled. He smiled. It felt like he had died and gone to heaven. But he was reincarnated all too soon. She started pulling back and Travis sadly let go.

There was a honk in the distance. "That's Argus. He's my ride." Travis nodded. "I better get going." She walked out towards the door with a small wave goodbye. Travis watched her walk out sadly. She was about to leave forever. He had to do something. He had to get some balls as Conner put it.

He took a deep breath and ran out the door. "Katie!" he shouted as he ran up behind her. She didn't get far, just past the Hermes cabin steps.

"Yeah?" she asked when she turned around.

"Katie, I need to tell you something."

She looked confused. "What is it?"

Travis took another deep breath before speaking. "I-I don't want this to be it." Katie opened her mouth to object, but Travis shushed her and kept on going. "I know, you gave me your phone number and email and stuff, but I don't just want to be that friend of yours that you email when you have nothing to do on a Saturday night." She started smiling and was about to talk again, but he shushed her once more.

"I-I know you're gonna be busy and all lately, but, uh, I was wondering if maybe sometime soonish may-maybe we could do something together, like see a movie and get some dinner, or it doesn't even have to be dinner. It could be lunch or breakfast or brunch, even. Shoot, it can even be a nice, friendly snack high in protein and low in fat. I just . . . I just want to see you again."

Katie smiled when he finished his rant. _Shit, _he thought. _She's laughing at you. Nice job, Travis. Way to make a complete and utter fool-_

Travis's thoughts got cut off when he felt something on his lips. They were soft and sweet and holy shark bandanas! They were Katie's lips. Katie's lips were on his. Katie was kissing him. _Katie _was _kissing him._ After getting over the shock, he got into more shock. He wasn't kissing back. What was wrong with him? Why wasn't he kissing back? Don't just stand there, kiss her.

He gasped a bit, finally getting control over his own body. He slid a hand up to cup her cheek and slid another around her waist to pull her closer. It was just possibly the best kiss he's ever had. Her face was soft as he rubbed his thumb across her cheekbone and her lips tasted like chocolate. Was that weird? Hadn't he read somewhere that most girls tasted like strawberries? His last girlfriend tasted like strawberries. And the one before that, too. But Travis didn't care. He liked chocolate ten times better than strawberries. Strawberries are healthy. Yucky.

After the lack of air was making it hard for both, Katie pulled away and smiled. "I'd love that," she said, disentangling herself from his arms and slowly walking backwards.

She'd love what? What was she talking about? Kissing him? Yeah, he'd love more of that too. Travis tried hard to think back before the kiss completely destroyed most of his brain cells.

The brunch movie snack thing. He tried to open his mouth and reply but he couldn't even talk. Instead, he smiled and nodded in agreement. She giggled. Gods, he loved that giggle. "I'll call you later," she told him, still walking backwards, watching his shrinking figure disappear. Travis nodded again, still with that stupid smile on his face. Katie laughed once more before sending him a small wave and turning around.

After sighing a happy and content sigh, Travis turned around to go back to the cabin. He was not expecting his brother to jump out at him from hiding in a bush.

"You got balls, bro!"

* * *

First off, yeah, I did change my name. Chill. I'm still the same old Mrs Sinclair Youngblood Powers just with a new found fascination of cupcakes! :)

Second off, this chapter just makes me go 'Awwww!' How bout you? Mind telling me what you think in a review? Cuz you know I love reviews. A lot. A lot a lot. Just saying. And since I gave you a wooly mammoth in the last chapter, how about you get an elephant in this chapter just so then they can fight to the death to see which one's better. My bet's kinda rocking with the mammoth. I mean, have you seen those tusks? Those things are freaking huge!

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter C. **C**arrie, the **c**razy, **c**alloflower **c**itizen of **C**anada loved to **c**roon at the **c**rows outside her **c**rusty, **c**ondo window, that no, **C**apN'**C**upcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or anything other than the laptop she's writing this on! Stay **c**lassy!

Lather, rinse, review! Oh, and happy belated Easter, I guess.

:) Jordan


	4. D is for Demeter

Travis only met Demeter three times during his life.

The first time was after Travis had just proposed. After a few tears and plenty of heated kisses, they ended back up in their room in the apartment they shared with Conner. Luckily, he was out that night, probably doing the same thing they were but with some girl he had just met earlier that day.

The red numbers on the alarm clock read 4:13. Travis sighed as he stared at Katie in the dark. She lay on the bed with her hair sprawled out against the pillow, her mouth slightly open, and her arms hugging the covers to her bare torso tightly. Travis pushed some hair behind her ear and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. He saw her shiver slightly at his touch. She cuddled into his side, trying to gain some warmth. Travis smiled. He couldn't believe it. She was his. All his. And for once, he didn't have to share what was his, and he was quite glad about it.

Travis sat in silence with Katie curled into his side for a few more minutes, enjoying the quiet peace. A shiver suddenly ran down his spine. Shit. He had to pee. _Nice job_, he told himself. _Way to ruin your moment._He bit down on his lip, praying to as many gods that he could think of that Katie wouldn't wake up as he carefully slid out of her grip and touched his feet to the floor. He sighed in relief when she groaned slightly and rolled over, bringing most of the sheets and blankets with her. He felt around the dark room for his discarded boxers or anything really to cover up his bare bottom half. Even if the only window in the house gave them the gorgeous view of the dumpster, he still didn't feel right just walking around in the nude.

The light of the bathroom flickered on once he closed the door behind him and flipped the switch. Travis sighed, once again in relief, but for a different reason this time. He closed his eyes and rolled his head back. Yesterday's lunch break was the last time he had gone to the bathroom, so he now felt like he was possibly going to explode.

"_What_exactly does she see in you?" A voice came out of nowhere, startling Travis, making him gasp and jump a bit. Luckily, his bladder had been emptied. Katie would not have enjoyed cleaning that off the walls. In front of the door to the bathroom stood a woman, looking like she was in her mid-forties. Pieces of wheat were braided between black strands of hair. She had on a long, golden dress that reached the floor and shimmered when she moved. The woman looked strangely familiar to Travis, and not just because she had the same exact beautiful brown eyes of his fiancé.

"D-Demeter," he stuttered while hurriedly pushing the seat down with a _clang_and flushing the toilet. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, he moved his boxers around a bit and tried covering up his chest with his arms, feeling the faint blush on his cheeks.

"Relax, child," Demeter said, rolling her eyes. The comment made his face a bit darker, actually. He was not a _child._Who calls a twenty-one year old man a_child_? _A goddess who's hundreds of thousands of years old and who could still totally kick your ass,_his brain chided. _Shut up!_he told it. _Now is so not the time!_"I do not care about your scrawny, naked chest," she continued, bringing Travis back to the real world. "I care about my daughter."

"Katie?" Travis whispered. He hated being around gods, really. It always made him uncomfortable and his lungs never seemed able to get enough air.

"No," Demeter drawled, sarcasm dripping off of her words. "I came here to nag you about Persephone."

"Shouldn't you be talking to Hades about this, then?" Travis also lost most of his sense of humor when around gods and goddesses.

She rolled her eyes once again and Travis was allowed to smile for the first time since the goddess appeared. The act of annoyance reminded him of Katie. He really hoped that she wasn't hearing this from her spot on the bed. "I came to talk to you about Katie."

"Oh," he added in a small voice. "What about her?"

"I wanted to discuss this . . . _thing_you two have got going on."

"I meant to ask you before I proposed and all, but I just kinda-"

"I was not talking about the proposal," Demeter interrupted, cutting him off midsentence. "I was talking about sex."

Travis tried. He really did. He tried _so_hard. Really, really hard. . . . But he just couldn't do it. He snickered. A goddess just said sex. Te he! You can't not laugh when you hear that coming out of an immortal's mouth. "Are you laughing at me?" Her teeth were gritted and her finger was up in accusation.

"N-No ma'am," he mumbled as she stepped closer and closer, finger poking into his chest. Without meaning to, she seemed to be growing taller and taller, into her normal size on Olympus.

"You were laughing because I said sex weren't you? Weren't you?"

The laugh came much quicker this time. Travis clamped a hand over his mouth quickly, thrashing his head from side to side. "I didn't laugh, I swear!"

"Really?" Demeter asked, getting red in the face. "Then who did? The toothbrush?" She motioned to the mechanical toothbrush charging in its pedestal balancing on the edge of the sink.

"Well," Travis said quietly while shrugging. "It's one of those new robotic, mechanical ones made in Japan. They have a mind of their own." He smiled slightly, trying to look innocent. Katie always went easier on him when he flashed her that smile. Travis just hoped that Demeter was more like her daughter than just the looks and the small habits.

"You know what, you little-" Demeter stopped herself, shrunk down to normal, human size, and took a step back. "No," she said to herself. "You promised no more hurting helpless, idiotic demigods. No matter how annoying." She glared at Travis. Taking a deep breath and trying to soften up her look, she said, "So you plan on marrying my daughter?"

Travis nodded mutely.

"I see," Demeter mumbled. "And what about kids? Do you plan on having any?"

She seemed to have caught him off guard. He sucked in a breath through his teeth, and his eyes grew to the size of saucers. "I-I . . . We sorta talked about it once."

"Is that a yes?"

"I . . . I don't know. Maybe someday."

Demeter nodded in approval. "But what if she is already pregnant?"

If it was possible, Travis's eyes got even wider. "Ex-excuse me?" His voice went up a few octaves near the end. His voice hadn't cracked so badly since he went through puberty.

She chuckled at his disheveled manner, but she went back to her serious state after only a few seconds. "I said, what if she is already pregnant? What would you do if you had already planted your seed in her, just last night?"

"Technically it was this morning," Travis muttered under his breath. The goddess glared at him. "Anyways," he continued, "it's really okay, Lady Demeter." Travis didn't seem okay, though. He started worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, and his face was flushed. "I used protection." After swearing under his breath at his squeaky voice, Travis looked up to find Demeter chuckling once more and shaking her head.

"That 'protection' is not all that protective, young demigod." He raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Those things only work ninety-seven percent of the time. You do know that, right?" He just kept staring. "They do write it on the box." More staring. "But hey, maybe for once in your life you will be lucky and you will be part of that ninety-seven percent."

"But it's worked before. Lots of times before." Travis cleared his throat and shook his head. He noticed that his heartbeat had increased quite a bit. Why was he worried? She was just being an annoying goddess trying to protect her daughter and ruin his dreams, right? . . . Right. "But, uh, what . . . what would happen if I was part of that three percent? Would there be a chance it wouldn't, you know . . . fertilize?" he asked her as if she was the Oracle of Delphi and she knew everything.

Demeter chuckled once more. Gods, he hated that chuckle. "Have you ever wondered, young demigod, why there are so many of your kind? Why there are so many heroes out there?"

"The gods are horny bitches?" When she glared, he offered that smile once more. She did not enjoy it.

"No," she snapped. "Gods are very powerful people. That means that even their cells are powerful, including sex cells." The corners of Travis's lips turned up a bit. Demeter sucked in a breath through her nose in frustration. "Our sex cells never miss."

"So, like, whenever you guys get it on . . ." Travis trailed off at the end of his sentence while biting on his lip. Not only was this slightly funny, but Travis found it extremely annoying as well. All he wanted when he came in here was to go pee. Now he was getting a sex ed. lesson from his fiancé's mother. Wonderful.

Demeter nodded. "Someone ends up pregnant." Travis swallowed. "And guess what, young man? You are part god. That means that half of you, half of the cells that make up your body, are from your father." She smiled down at him. "But hey. Maybe your 'protection' actually worked." She continued to smile as she backed away from him, towards the spot where she had first appeared a few minutes ago. "And if not . . ." Demeter shrugged. "I wish you the best of luck, young demigod." As Travis glanced away towards the shower, she went into her true form and zapped off to Olympus, leaving the faint smell of freshly baked bread and newly picked flowers in the air.

Travis stepped away from the wall and let out a sigh he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. After a few minutes of just standing towards the mirror, looking at his reflection, and soaking in all the things that had happened in the last few minutes, he twisted the handle of the bathroom door and stepped back out into the bedroom.

He found Katie sitting up in bed, the sheet pulled up around her, covering her bare chest. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and pushed back her messy hair. "Were you just talking to yourself?" she asked, her voice slightly groggy from sleep.

Travis smiled and walked back over to the side of the bed. "No, I was just . . . Conner called me."

She squinted over to the bedside table. "Isn't your phone right there?"

"Yeah," he said, laying back down in the bed and pulling Katie down and into his side. "Then whose phone was I just using?"

Katie smiled and laid her head down on his chest. She started drawing small circles on his chest. "I love you."

"Love you, too," Travis muttered.

Travis gritted his teeth and stuffed another shirt into his duffle bag. He hated himself for doing this, but she couldn't just expect him to be perfectly fine after dropping something like that on him unexpectedly. The smell of burnt bread and rotting flowers interrupted his thoughts, but Travis didn't look up. He just kept packing.

Travis heard Demeter sigh, and he had a feeling she was standing with one hip out and her arms crossed across her chest the same way Katie did when she was pissed. _No,_he scolded himself. _Don't think about her. Just pack._

"You're really going to do this?" Demeter asked him while he folded up a few shirts and stuffed them in his bag. "You're really just going to leave her like this, when she's most vulnerable?"

"You don't understand," Travis said through gritted teeth when he finally looked up at the goddess. She was glowering at him venomously.

"You don't think I understand? You _really_don't think I understand?" She shook her head. "You don't think I know what it's like every time I have a child with a man that I love, and I have to watch that child grow up every day without me?"

"This is different," he mumbled, walking by Demeter and over to the bathroom, fumbling through the draws looking for toothbrushes and other assorted toiletries.

She placed a fake smile on her face and turned towards the demigod. "You're right," she said, her smile slowly fading. "There is a difference. My children and their fathers _knew_ I was leaving. I didn't leave them, four weeks pregnant, while they were taking a nap on the couch, expecting me to be there, loving them, as soon as they woke up. I didn't leave them with a crappy letter as my only explanation. I didn't leave them-"

"I get it!" Travis shouted, cutting her off midsentence.

"Do you really?" Demeter walked back over to the boy. He was just standing there, staring at the tube of toothpaste in his hand.

Travis sighed through his nose and slowly closed his eyes. He bit his lip and paused before talking again. "I just . . . I just can't do this." He glumly shook his head.

"And why not?"

There was silence once again before Travis spoke. "I'm not ready." Travis became startled and opened his eyes when Demeter placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. He looked up into her eyes, and she squeezed his shoulder slightly. "I can't do this. I don't want to be a father, not yet. I'm twenty-one years old. I haven't done anything with my life yet. I . . . I'm not ready to be a dad. I haven't gone to college, and my job's crap. Katie and I aren't even married yet! I . . . I just can't do it." Travis shook his head and shrugged Demeter's hand off of his shoulder, walking back over to his bag to put away his toiletries.

"Are those really all the reasons?" she asked, watching him precisely as he zipped up his bag. "Is that it?"

Travis bit his lip once more, closing his eyes, and inhaling a deep breath. "I don't deserve her." They stood in silence a bit more. Demeter wasn't going to interrupt. He opened his eyes and stared at her. The goddess was slightly surprised to see tears in his eyes. "I don't want to leave them," he whispered, "but I don't deserve her."

"And why not?"

"Katie's . . . Katie is _so_many kinds of wonderful. She's gorgeous, and smart, and funny, and kind, and she's going to be the best mother in the world. But me . . . I'm me. I'm annoying, and immature, and idiotic, and she could just do _so_much better. Do you know how many guys were drooling over her at camp? Do you know how many people I had to go through just to get to her? Anyone in the whole world, except maybe Hitler or something, could be a better father and better husband than me.

"Katie wanted to open up her own flower shop and start a business and have a good, successful life. And she was so close. But now look at her. She's knocked up, and she can't do any of those things. Not for a while, anyways. All of that happened because of me. I'm dragging her down and ruining a great life that she deserves to have. What have I done with my life? Nothing. I've sat around and done nothing. While she's out getting a degree and working her ass off, I'm just sitting here, watching the Texans get crushed and eating stale potato chips. Katie and the baby deserve ten times better than me."

Travis expected some big denial coming from Demeter. That's what always happened in the movies. Even if she hated him, he still was predicting a giant 'No, Travis. You're great for who you are!' But instead he got "You're right."

"Excuse me?"

"I said you are right. Katie does deserve someone much better than you. You are immature, and stupid, and you have a terrible sense of humor. She could have easily fallen in love with a lawyer or a doctor, but no. She had to go and fall in love with you." He hung his head and started grabbing for his bag when a soft hand with dirt under the fingernails knocked the bag on to the floor. Travis gaped up at the goddess. "But," she said, "you love Katie. A lot. And she loves you, for reasons that I absolutely cannot see." He smiled slightly, but it faded quickly.

"And when you love someone that much, you have to let them go sometimes." He grabbed his bag up off the ground and started walking towards the door.

"But what about the baby? She needs a father." Travis paused halfway to the door.

"She?" he asked. His voice was back to squeaking once again. How come Demeter could always do that to him?

She nodded. "Mmhm."

Travis closed his eyes and bit his lip. He wasn't going to cry. He was not going to cry. "It's a girl."

"Mmhm."

He turned around and stared at the goddess, his eyes burning and watery. It hurt him so badly to do this. He took a deep breath. "I told you," Travis said, voice cracking and tear running down his cheek. "I can't be a father."

Demeter sighed and walked forward, placing her hand on his shoulder once again. This time, he did not shrug it off or wince. He let her place her hand there, and he secretly liked the small gesture of comfort. "Travis," she sighed. He looked up into her eyes. She had never called him by his name before. "You really are an idiot. To think that you aren't worthy enough, to think that Katie could do better." She shook her head and tsked. "I'm disappointed in you. I have never seen anyone love Katie the way that you do. Never in her life has anyone looked at her the way that you do. Her dad didn't even look at her like that."

"That's exactly why I need-"

"No, no, no. I'm not done. I have never seen _her_look at anyone the way she looks at you either. If you leave her tonight, you will be crushing her beyond belief. She won't know how to go on with life if you leave tonight. And what about the baby? What about your little girl? She needs a father." Travis opened his mouth to protest but he shut it when the goddess sent him an angry glare.

"You _will_be a good father," she said. "So what if you didn't go to college and you have the terrible misfortune of being one of the only straight men in the world to be a secretary? So what? That little girl won't care. She won't look at that. She's going to look at all of your achievements; you fought against Kronos for gods' sake! She's going to look at how much you love Katie and how much you love her, and that's what she's going to care about. And if you truly hate that you didn't go to college, that's what community college is for! Idiot adults who didn't think to go right after high school."

Travis did not smile. With a tear streaming down his face he looked up at Demeter and whispered a hushed, "I'm sorry."

Demeter threw her hand off of his shoulder and puffed an angry sigh. She glared down at him, but he did not meet her gaze. He stared down at his shoes, determined not to let a goddess see him cry.

"I'm sorry, too," she scolded. "I'm sorry that I believed in you. I'm sorry that you don't believe in yourself! I'm sorry that you seriously think that you don't deserve Katie, that you're too pathetic for her or for your own child! I'm sorry that I stood here today, and wasted my perfect time here, trying to convince you of the obvious! I'm sorry that that poor little girl inside my daughter's stomach will never get to meet her father because, yes, he is an asshole who left her and doesn't even love her! I'm-"

"Don't you say that," Travis muttered between clenched teeth as he glowered up at the goddess. "Don't you say that I don't love my daughter."

"If you really loved her, you wouldn't be leaving right now." Demeter matched his evil glare with her own, her nostrils flaring. She sighed angrily through her nose while she turned around on her heel. Without any warning, she disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the smell of moldy, burnt bread.

Travis stood where he was for at least fifteen minutes, staring at the spot on the floor where Demeter had disappeared. Travis walked over to the bed, set his bag down, and started unpacking.

Travis smiled as he looked down at the small baby girl in his arms. He couldn't believe it. He made her. He made this beautiful little creature in his arms. He couldn't believe it. Looking over at Katie in the hospital bed next to him, his smile widened. Her hair was stuck to the nape of her neck from perspiration and the bags under her eyes were dark. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. You never would have guessed that she had been screaming her lungs out in pain just an hour earlier.

Travis glanced up when he smelt the scent of freshly mown grass. Demeter appeared next to the window that was spilling sunlight into the room. She walked over to Travis and stood next to his chair, looking down at the child in his arms. "She's gorgeous," Demeter muttered.

He looked up at the goddess and then back down at the girl. "She really is, isn't she?"

"Her name?" she asked, motioning to Travis that she wanted to hold the child. Travis hesitated a bit before handing her over.

"Amaryllis Lily Stoll," he told her as she took the bundle into her own arms. She smiled down at the small baby. "But we call her Mary."

"Lovely," she whispered. "Did Katie pick it?" Demeter looked up from the girl and glanced at her father.

Travis smiled and nodded his head. "If it was a girl, she chose. If it was a boy, I chose."

She glanced at him again with raised eyebrows. "Did I not tell you the child was female?"

"You did." He shrugged. "I just wanted Katie to be happy."

They stood in silence for a few minutes, Demeter holding Mary, and Travis watching Katie sleep. "Why'd you do it?" Demeter suddenly asked, breaking the quiet peace.

He looked up. "Do what?"

"Take my advice and stay with them. Why'd you end up doing it?"

Was it just her imagination, or did he blush? "I thought about what you said, and you were right. I couldn't do that to Katie or to Mary. I couldn't do that to myself either."

She smiled. "I see," Demeter said, handing the baby back to her father. He took her gratefully, happy to have her back in his hands. "Why haven't you two tied the knot, though?"

"Oh." Travis smiled and glanced over at Katie. "She didn't want to look 'fat' going down the aisle." He shrugged. "I tried to explain to her that I thought the pregnancy made her look more hot than normal, but she wouldn't listen."

This time, Demeter smiled. "She spent too much time with those Aphrodite girls when you went to that camp." Travis agreed.

"I just . . ." Travis trailed off, glancing up at the goddess and smiling slightly. "I just wanted to say thank you. For everything. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be out on the street right now, miserable that I missed this day."

Smiling back, she nodded. "My pleasure."

They stood in silence for a bit longer, both just watching Mary stir around in Travis's arms.

"I must get going now," Demeter said, breaking the silence unexpectedly.

"So soon?" Travis asked. He had started to somewhat enjoy the goddess's visits. He hadn't seen her since Katie first became pregnant and they weren't all that friendly at the time.

She smiled down at him. "I really shouldn't have come here in the first place. I did not even ask Zeus for permission before leaving. I really should get back."

"Oh, okay," Travis said, standing up as the goddess was about to go.

"Oh yes," she remembered, right before leaving. She turned around to face Travis and spoke. "What did you have for breakfast this morning?"

Travis was startled. "Um . . . I don't know. Waffles." It came out more as a question than a statement.

"I see." She nodded. "And yesterday?"

Travis shook his head before answering. "I don't think I ate breakfast yesterday."

"Just as I suspected," she mumbled. She looked up at the demigod. "You need more cereal."

"Excuse me?"

"The last time I was at your apartment there was not a single trace of cereal, and from your telling me I'm guessing that you don't eat it much, do you?"

"No, not really."

"Hmm." Demeter shook her head. "You should. It's good for the colon."

She was gone before Travis could ask any more questions.

"Travis," Katie moaned from the bed. He hurried over to the side of the bed.

"Hey," he whispered, handing Mary over to her mother.

She smiled as she held the baby, opening her hospital gown so she could feed. "Was someone here?" she asked him, her voice slightly groggy from her nap.

Travis shook his head. "No one," he said as he pushed her hair back from her face and behind her ear.

"I thought I heard you talking to someone." She looked up at him expectantly.

"No one, my love," he whispered, bending over her to kiss her forehead. He went up and kissed the top of her head too. "I love you, you know," he mumbled against her hair.

"I know," Katie said as he sat back down next to her on the bed and starting stroking Mary's small tuft of black hair on the top of her head with his thumb. "I love you, too."

He smiled. "I know."

Sorry for the wait, my dear readers! You know how annoying school is. But since I made you wait, I decided to give you an uber long chapter! Except this chapter was kinda depressing, don't you think? Very emotional. But it had Demeter! And Demeter's too legit! I think the middle one was my favorite, even if it kind of made me wanna cry. What about you? Mind telling me what you think? I'd really appreciate it!

Oh, and if you review, I'll give you your very own TOOTHBRUSH! Yeah! Cuz you know the saying, 'A toothbrush a day keeps the dentist away!'

Thanks uber much to Chesty's Superbest Friend for looking this over for me! You're the bestest! And thanks to Go Elephants Go for giving me the idea! (What are you talking about, Kirstin? This have totally been here the entire time! . . . Psh!)

**Disclaimer:**This **d**isclaimer is brought to you by the letter D. "CapN'Cupcake **d**oesn't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians!" **D**ale, the **d**rowning, **d**og-loving, **d**iplomat of **D**etroit **d**eclared as he **d**ove **d**own **d**eep into the **d**ark, **d**isturbing **d**raw.

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	5. E is for Easter

"Oh," Travis moaned while staring at the Demeter cabin's roof. It was Easter and the Stoll brothers wanted to celebrate. How to celebrate? There's only one way to celebrate Easter! They hid eggs and chocolate bunnies, of course. But they didn't just hide it anywhere. Oh no, they had a special place to hide their eggs. Where could it be? Oh, on top of the Demeter cabin's roof, obviously. Whoever made the cabins really should have thought of using something other than grass to use for the roof. Not only is it unsafe (have you ever even read the Three Little Pigs?), but it's just a giant target for great pranks throughout the centuries. "It's so beautiful." He wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye and sniffled.

"It really is," Conner agreed, admiring their work as well.

They did not get to admire in silence for very long though. "_Excuse me?!_" Katie yelled behind them, making them turn around to face her. She was quite a bit shorter than them at the time and had to look up.

"Yes?" Conner asked with a small smile.

"What _is _this?!" she shouted, motioning over to her cabin.

They turned back around to admire their work once more. "It's gorgeous," Conner mumbled.

"It's a masterpiece," Travis decided.

Tilting his head to the side, he said, "If you squint your eyes it looks like something from Monet."

"I can totally see that weird, screaming guy."

"That's not Monet. That's Edvard Munch."

"Since when did you become an art major?"

"When I was dating the chick that was obsessed with art."

"Oh, that one with the big-"

"Exactly."

"She was hot."

"Ya think I would've gone out with her for so long if she wasn't?"

"I'm still here!!" Katie shouted, moving in front of the twins to semi-block their view of the cabin.

"We know," Travis said.

"We've just decided to ignore you," Conner added. "Your voice is very . . ."

"Annoying."

"There's the word."

"It's very loud."

"Squeaky."

"Annoying."

"It kind of makes me wanna punch a baby."

"And kick 'em in the face."

"And push 'em down a hill."

"Yes. Push them down a hill, indeed."

Katie stared at them in shock. Were they serious? "My voice can't be _that _annoying . . . Can it?"

"Oh it can," Conner told her bluntly.

"Maybe you can fix it," Travis said.

"Yeah." Conner lowered his voice so he sounded like the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. "You can talk like this for the rest of the day."

Travis laughed, and lowered his voice too. "Yes, you can talk like this. Try it. It will surely help."

"No," Katie blurted. "I will not talk like that!"

"Why not?" Conner bugged, still with the low voice.

"Because it's weird and annoying, and if you don't stop, you're going to make _me _push a baby down a hill!"

Both boys went silent and serious. Conner shook his head. "No," he said. "You're not up to that level yet."

"What level?!"

"The level of coolness that allows you to push babies down hills."

"Maybe you should start with rolling a pillow down a hill," Travis suggested.

"Or maybe punch a flower."

"No, she couldn't do that. Not to her own kind."

"Maybe you can try a stuffed animal."

"Slow down, Speed Racer! That's next week!"

The conch horn blew in the distance. "Woah," Conner said. "Aphrodite cabin just got out of swords class. Gotta go stalk Melani." He ran off towards the arena leaving Travis and Katie by themselves.

They stood in silence for a little while, before Travis started to turn around and go back to his own cabin.

"You've still gotta clean it up, you know," Katie shouted as Travis was walking away. He paused where he was and turned around to look at her. "I'm not going to do it."

He smiled and walked back towards her a bit. "Oh, you just don't get it, do you, Sarah?"

"That's not my name."

"It's not?" he asked. She shook her head. "Sadie. Sabrina. Samantha. Sierra. Sandra. Susan. Suzie. Sonia. Sasha. Savannah. Shan-"

"My name's Katie."

"That was definitely my next guess." Travis smiled when he saw the corners of her mouth turn up slightly, but they disappeared quickly. "So, Katie, I'm not going to clean this up."

"And why not?"

He chuckled. "It's a prank."

"So?"

"_So, _I'm not going to clean it up." He turned around again to walk back to his cabins, but Katie stopped him.

"You _are _going to clean this up!"

"Make me."

Ten minutes later Travis was found on the Demeter cabin's roof, picking up hard-boiled eggs and chocolate bunnies, while a vicious, thorny vine threatened him every time he tried to escape. Katie may not have enjoyed the Stoll brothers, but she sure was enjoying her Easter that year.

* * *

Sorry! This one's really short and kinda lame and not very epic, but it's a chapter! And the next one will make up for it, I swear. Too bad you won't know what it is until I post it . . . fine I'll tell you! Just stop begging! F is for Fireworks, as in _the _Fireworks. Yes, it's okay if you squealed. I did too. And yeah. They did talk about this in TLO. That's where I got the idea.

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter E. **E**very **e**asy, **e**xcited **e**skimo **e**njoys to **e**xclaim "CapN'Cupcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians!" (This disclaimer is kinda sucky too. **E **is a stupid letter!!!

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	6. F is for Fireworks

Travis released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He had been nervous the entire day. He had asked Katie to the Fireworks, yes, _the _Fireworks . . . as friends. Yeah, he was depressed about it too, but this is the Fireworks we're talking about and he's going with _Katie Gardner._ Even if it was just 'as friends' he couldn't help but be a bit excited. Taking a deep breath, he gently knocked on the Demeter cabin door. He held his breath until the door swung open.

"Hey, Ka – Melani?" His smile faded and he gaped at her. He looked up at the cabin number, making sure he was at the right cabin. Melani was the Aphrodite cabin's new councilor after the war and Conner's obsession. He had been trying for about two years now to get her to go out with him, doing everything from giving her cabin a perfect score when he did cabin inspection to opening doors for her to pretty much being her servant. And he called Travis desperate.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't get all excited in your pants just yet, Travis. You haven't even seen Katie." She smiled and opened the door a bit wider, revealing three of her sisters huddled together, trying to conceal a squirming person from Travis's view. Two of the three moved away, leaving Katie in the empty space behind them. She was yelling at the third Aphrodite girl, using curse words a sailor would blush at. Noticing the absence of the rest of the group, she turned around. Once she saw Travis she smiled slightly. Realizing what she was doing, Katie blushed, bit down on her lip, and then looked down at her feet. "Hey," she said, looking up momentarily.

"Wow, Katie. You look . . . wow." Katie was dressed in a small jean skirt with leggings underneath, and a simple gray shirt. Her hair had been straightened, and she was wearing a small amount of makeup that made her eyes look gorgeous. She blushed a darker red once his words soaked in, and Travis joined in the blushing party once he realized what he had said.

Melani stomped on Katie's toe, making her glare up at her. She motioned over to Travis with her head, giving her a knowing look. Katie sighed, rolled her eyes, and turned back to Travis. "Thanks. You too," she muttered with a smile and a blush. Travis really hoped she was being like this because she was nervous, not because she didn't want to do this.

"I, uh, got you a flower." He held out the small yellow dandelion. Katie couldn't help but smile.

"That's a weed, smart one," Melani accused, making Travis feel like an even bigger idiot than normal.

"Melani," said Katie in a scolding voice.

"What? It is!"

Katie rolled her eyes and took the dandelion from Travis. She smiled. "Thanks, Travis. I love it."

He tried to hide the blush from his cheeks. "We better get going," he said. Katie nodded her head, walking out of the cabin, Travis trailing behind her. They walked in silence towards the beach, their arms brushing each other occasionally, bringing goose bumps to both.

"Have fun, you love birds!" Melani shouted from the Demeter cabin, smiling after them. They were just _too _cute together. She laughed and closed the cabin door.

Katie sighed and turned to Travis. "I'm sorry, about her. She can be _really _annoying."

Luckily, he laughed. "It's cool. Conner was bugging me about it all day, too." She nodded and stared down at her feet as they walked. "But it's okay. Cuz remember. We're just friends." He tried to keep the disappointment from his voice, but was pretty sure he did a crappy job of it.

"Yeah," she muttered. "Just friends." To Travis's surprise, he thought he heard disappointment in her voice as well. His smile was inevitable.

They arrived at Travis's set up blanket quickly after that. The sight made Katie giggle. Travis had never heard her giggle before. He liked it. "Nice blanket."

He blushed. "Thanks, I know." They stopped in front of the blanket to admire it. It had a simple picture of Pikachu from Pokemon, alongside a Pokeball and 'Gotta catch em all!' in giant, yellow letters. "I was obsessed with Pokemon for a few years there when I was younger." She rolled her eyes and laughed slightly. "And I will admit, I had a crush on Pikachu for a while there too."

"I thought Pikachu was a boy."

Travis shrugged. "Either way, I was in love with it. Our children would have my looks and its lightning powers. They were gorgeous." He sat down on the blanket and absently stroked Pikachu's head.

Smiling once more, Katie said, "I was always more of a Piplup girl myself." She tried to sit down, but was having difficulties due to the skirt. She grunted under her breath. "I hate skirts."

Travis smiled and held out a hand. "I'm not much a fan, either. They always made me look fat." She smiled, too, and grabbed his hand. He helped her sit down and cross her legs. "There you go." He really should have let go of her hand, but he didn't. She was glad.

They were both blushing deeply at their linked hands and their close proximity on the small blanket. They looked up and blushed deeper, but they didn't look away. Katie's eyes fluttered shut and she leaned in. Travis was about to follow suit when –

"Can I get you anything to drink this fine evening?" They split apart quickly, unlinking their hands and making sure they were as far away from each other as possible on the blanket. Katie gaped at the small Hermes boy who had come to camp just two weeks ago. She believed his name was Timmy. He was wearing a tiny tux, and he had a mustache drawn under his lip. He was carrying a silver tray. She had to try hard not to laugh.

"Yes, Timmy, we'd love something to drink," Travis said with a smile, his face still bright red. "How about a Coke and a Sprite?" Timmy nodded his head and ran off. Katie stared at Travis in disbelief. He shrugged. "He's definitely a Hermes. He'll do anything for ten bucks."

"You dressed an eight year old in a tux and made him serve on us tonight?"

"He's seven actually. The tuxedo makes him look older."

Katie smiled and laughed slightly. "I actually think it was the mustache. It totally threw me off."

Travis smiled as well. "Yeah. He stole that eyeliner from Melani the first few days he was here."

"That's why I'm not wearing any eyeliner tonight!"

"You don't need makeup. You look perfectly pretty without it." There was an awkward silence that followed while the words soaked in to both of their minds. Travis looked down and blushed, but Katie smiled (and blushed. They _always _blush.).

"You look pretty without makeup, too, you know?" she said, with a hand on his shoulder. His eyes stalked her hand as it traveled down his arm. He looked up as soon as her hand met his, and –

"Your sodas." They both sighed in slight frustration and looked over at Timmy.

"Thanks, Timmy," Travis said, grabbing the drinks from his small tray and handing one to Katie.

"Anything else?"

"No thanks. You can run off now if you'd like." He scuttled off towards the cabin. Travis turned back to Katie. "Sorry," he muttered, handing her a Sprite.

She plastered a smile on her face and shook her head. "It's fine."

"You're supposed to pop the cap and drink it, you know," Travis told her after a minute or so of silence while she sat and tapped the top of her can.

She smiled. "I don't really like soda." She tried to hand it back to him but he pushed it back at her making her smile widen.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't like the carbonation." She rolled her eyes as Travis looked around, shocked.

"What!?!" he shouted.

"It, like, hurts my mouth and stuff. I don't like them."

"You say you don't like carbonation."

"Yes."

"So you don't even drink energy drinks?"

"No."

"No Rockstars?"

"No Rockstars."

"No Red Bulls?"

"No Red Bulls."

"_No Monster?_"

"No Monster."

"How do you live in life?"

She laughed. "I don't know. I don't even like pizza all that much either."

He gaped at her. "You are just . . . Un-American!"

"First off, pizza's Italian. Secondly, we're both technically Greek so it doesn't really matter how American we are."

"Yeah well . . . you're hair smells funny!"

Katie giggled once more while silently scolding herself. She had never giggled before this night. What the hell was wrong with her? "Really?" He nodded. "My hair smells funny?"

Travis sighed in defeat and slumped his shoulders. "No. Your hair smells like apricots."

Smiling, she said, "Thank you."

He shrugged, and was about to reply when a giant _BOOM! _startled them both. The fireworks had started. Travis sighed and glanced up at the sky. This was probably about the seventh time he had seen the fireworks show, and he was bored of it after the second. He really didn't want to watch it yet again, especially when he could be doing much better things with the girl sitting right next to him.

Travis stood up abruptly, blocking Katie's view of the show. He held out his hand to her which she hesitantly took and stood up, turning slightly red as their palms touched. "What are we doing?" she asked as she stared down at their intertwined fingers. Travis wasn't letting go (not that she wanted him to) and was actually squeezing her hand tightly. "The fireworks just started."

"I'm sick and tired of the fireworks, actually," Travis said, pulling Katie to his chest. She seemed startled, really, but she didn't try to back off. "Once was really enough. So I've decided to make our own tradition now." Katie couldn't speak, couldn't talk, couldn't think. Travis was just so close. Their noses were almost touching, and Katie didn't even want to think about their lips. "We're going to dance," he whispered, his hot breath splaying across her face.

His comment brought her out of her daze though. She shook her head and looked down at their feet; even those were close and made her blush. "I-I don't really want to dance."

"Come on. It'll be fun. I promise."

Katie glanced around nervously and noticed other campers staring at them curiously. Was it possible for her to blush even darker? She tried to push away from Travis slightly, but his hold was strong. "But I'm really not even very good."

"So? Neither am I. We'll look like idiots together." She shook her head. "But if you don't dance with me, I may develop up a stutter. P-P-P-Please." He stuck his bottom lip out and widened his eyes, knowing that Katie couldn't resist a stuttering puppy. Nobody could. Except maybe Batman. That man is just, oh, such a beast.

"But there's all these people watching . . ." She trailed off.

"So? Didn't your dad ever tell you not to care what other people thought?"

"Well yeah . . . but Chiron just put out that thing about PDA and what if we get in trouble?"

"I promise to take all the blame. I'll tell Chiron I was raping you or something. But remember, it's not rape if you enjoy it." She blushed bright crimson and looked down at her feet. Travis smiled. "I'm kidding, Katie, just kidding." She sighed and smiled slightly when she looked back up. "So," Travis backed up from Katie, while still holding her hand, and got down on one knee, "Katie, may I have this dance?"

She glanced around nervously. Many campers were staring; a few of the Aphrodite girls and some of her own sisters were giggling. "Are you sure?"

"O-O-O-O-Oh no. I-I-I th-think I got that-that stut-st-stutter."

Katie couldn't help but smile and sigh a bit. "Fine," she whispered.

He jumped up quickly while grabbing her other hand and bringing her close yet again. "Shall we?"

She blushed at their close proximity but did not look down for once. "We shall."

Travis took one hand and put it on the small of her back while she took her own and placed it on his shoulder. They nodded to each other before dancing around like idiots together. Travis was trying to accomplish a waltz type dance, but really, they were just jumping around together, getting many stares and laughs from the campers. It really was all fun and games. Up until they started getting closer to the shore of the ocean. The two were having so much fun that they barely noticed that they were starting to walk into the water, wetting their feet and totally ruining Melani's shoes. They also didn't notice the large log that was on the bottom of the ocean floor only 5 or so feet away from the soft sand. Before either could do anything, Katie had accidently tripped over the said log and fallen into the water, soaking her head to toe. Travis stood in his spot, gaping.

"Katie?" he asked when she stood back up, dripping wet. She spit out salty water from her mouth and glared at him. "I am so-"

"No!" she screamed, cutting him off. "Just . . . shut up, Travis." She was pissed. Extremely so. She started walking back to the cabins. Travis ran to catch up to her.

"But, Katie, I'm _so _sorry."

"What did I say?" She glowered at him.

"Shut up."

"Exactly."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, but it wasn't the normal, blissful silence they usually had together. It was an awkward, angry silence. Travis couldn't handle it. "I've pushed you in the lake before and you weren't nearly this pissed."

Katie glared at him again.

"I'm just saying," he mumbled.

After rolling her eyes, they kept on walking. When they had finally reached the Demeter cabin, she turned to him. "Maybe I'm this pissed because I'm sick and tired of you, Travis." He opened up his mouth to protest, but Katie was not done. "Let me talk!" He let her talk. "You ruin everything! This night was supposed to be special. You're lazy, and immature, and idiotic, and completely and utterly oblivious!" He stared at her in confusion. "You don't know what oblivious means, do you?" she sighed.

"Psh! Of course I do!"

She rolled her eyes and sighed once more. "It means that you can't see what's right in front of you."

Travis placed his hands on her shoulders. She couldn't really help the shiver that ran down her back. "_You_ are right in front of me."

Katie groaned and shrugged his hands off of her. "That's not what I meant!"

"Then what do you mean, Katie? What did I do to make you so mad?" His voice had also risen with his own anger.

His eyes had widen and the tips of his hair were stuck to his forehead from slight persperation. He was breathing heavier than normal and his nostrils were slightly flaring. He was one of the most gorgeous things Katie had ever seen. _No! _she yelled at herself. _Bad Katie! You're supposed to be pissed at him! _"Gods, stop staring at me like that," she muttered, turning away with a small frown.

"Why can't I stare at you like this?! Maybe I wanna stare at you like this!"

She groaned once more and stared up at him, anger in her eyes once more. Travis could have sworn he saw something else too. Hatred? Lust? He'd never been very good at reading eyes.

"Maybe I don't want you staring at me like that because . . . because maybe it makes me want to kiss you ten times more than normal!" she shouted, her own nostrils flaring, eyes flashing.

"You wanna kiss me?" Travis yelled. He really should've whispered it or said it in a lower, inside voice, but she got him in to this whole yelling thing.

She paused before answering. "Yeah, maybe I do! So what?"

"So maybe I wanna kiss you too!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

The next thing Katie knew was that Travis's mouth was on hers. One hand was in his hair - oh, gods! It was so soft. Her fingers twirled around a small curl, pulling it slightly, making Travis make a small noise in the back of his throat. The other hand was on his chest, as if pushing him away, but if you looked closely, her fingers were curled slightly around his T-shirt, pulling him closer. His lips tasted like dirt, but Katie didn't mind. After spending so much time in the Strawberry Fields, digging up weeds and planting bulbs, she had grown to know and love the taste of dirt.

All too soon, Travis stepped back, breaking off the kiss and leaving Katie wanting more. She stared into his blue eyes and sighed . . . but then she realized what she was doing. This was Travis Stoll she was canoodling with. Sure, pretty much everyone in the entire camp knew that she liked him, that part she wasn't freaking out about. She was freaking out about how he thinks he could just kiss her and expect her to not be mad at him anymore. Oh no. Naughty, naughty Koolaid. She was not going to forget about it that easily. She stepped back from him, glaring yet again. He looked at her in confusion.

"I still hate you," she said quickly before turning around and running back up to the Demeter cabin, slamming the door shut behind her.

Travis stared up at the closed door in slight amusement. With a slight smile on his face, he whispered, "Hate you, too."

* * *

So, was it as amazing as you thought it'd be? I sure hope so! Thanks so much to Chesty's Superbest Friend for being the bestest and helping me out with this! Love you!

I actually have some requests for you. Number one! It's actually more of a question. Are any of y'all artists? If so would you mind just drawing a cutesy little picture of Travis and Katie? I tried looking for them on DeviantArt, but I couldn't find a single picture of the two of them together. Sad face. So if any of you happen to have the ability to draw, do you mind making a little thing for the two of them? Number dos! Again with the Tratie! I'm asking you people to spread the love! Maybe make a fic for them, or something! There's barely any! It's sad, really. So spread the love people!

**Disclaimer**: This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter F. **F**rank, the **f**ailing, **f**reaky **f**rog who **f**ancies **f**orcing down **f**ried **f**ruit, **f**rayed about and **f**umed, "CapN'Cupcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or anything else mentioned up above!"

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	7. G is for Gardening

"Sup, Kay-tay!" Travis said loudly as he plopped down next to her in the Strawberry Fields. After glancing over in his direction and rolling her eyes, Katie went back to planting the small strawberry seeds.

"That's not my name," she muttered, her concentration now on the small plant she was making grow. Her fingers sparkled a slight green and the plant suddenly sprouted out of the ground, already looking a week or two old. She grinned triumphantly.

"Yeah, but Kay-tay sounds so much better than Katie." He'd seen the Demeter kids grow things before and found no interest in the strawberries. "You should change it."

"To Kay-tay?" Katie asked, glancing over at him.

"Yeah. And not only does it sound awesome, but it sounds like par-tay, which is pretty much the whole reason I came over here to talk to you in the first place."

Katie couldn't help but beam. "Pretty much?"

He ignored her comment, but she could've sworn she saw a small blush on his cheeks. "It's Conner's birthday par-tay tonight."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Can we please stop saying par-tay like this?"

"No, and it's also my non-birthday par-tay."

"What's a non-birthday par-tay?"

"Well, you know how everyone always thinks that Conner and I are twins?" She nodded. "Well, every year people get confused and idiotic and they give not only Conner presents but they get me some type of gift too. Same thing happens on my birthday for Conner. It's great, really."

"But didn't you just go off on people, like, last week about you two just being brothers?"

"Yeah, but people never listen to my rants. They always think that everything that comes out of my mouth is a joke."

"It's true. You're not a very angry person."

"As I was saying, there's gonna be music, and food, and underage drinking, and Chiron doesn't know anything about it. Are you coming or are you coming?" Travis asked with a slick smirk on his face. She couldn't help but smile. That grin of his could always make her smile.

"Sorry, but I have a date with Peeta tonight."

Travis's smile dropped along with all the humor in his eyes. "Who in the _Hades _is Peeta?"

A small laugh escaped Katie's lips. "Is Travis Stoll . . . _jealous_?" she questioned, mischief in her voice.

Was that a blush on his cheeks, yet again? "Psh! No. I'm just worried for your safety. Who is this Peeta guy, anyways? He might be a pedophile for all you know!"

Rolling her eyes with a smile on her lips, she said, "He's not a pedophile."

"How do you know? Only pedophiles could have the same name as bread."

"I know he's not a pedophile cuz he's a book character."

He was definitely blushing now. "He is?"

Katie laughed once more. "Yeah, he is. I'm so close to finishing this book right now, and I _really _wanted to finish it tonight."

"Oh." Travis sat in silence and watched as she planted another seed and made it grow. "So you're ditching me - and Conner, of course – for _a __book_?"

He put on his pouty, puppy face. It _always _worked on Katie. "Poor, Travis," she said while looking up at him. "Would you be happy if I came to the par-tay?"

Travis nodded and sniffled. "Yes."

"Too bad." She went back to planting another strawberry seed.

"You're mean," he muttered.

"That's not very nice, Travis."

"Well you're not being very nice, _Kay-tay._"

"If I let you plant a strawberry seed will you forgive me?" she asked while holding out her hand with the small seed in the middle of her palm.

"No, I hate gardening. I don't know how you do it all the time."

She smirked. "It might help that I'm kinda Demeter's daughter."

Travis sighed. "Yes, but gardening gets you all dirty, and it kills."

"How can gardening kill?"

"Well, there you are, just planting your seeds and digging around, when - oh no! - you have dirt under your fingernails! No matter how many times you wash your hands or how many showers you take it stays there, and stays there, and stays there. Finally, you go to your last option: a pencil."

"A pencil?"

"Don't interrupt! Yes, a pencil. So you take your newly sharpened pencil, stick it underneath your fingernail, and - oh no! - you've stabbed yourself."

"I have more control over a pencil than that."

He glared at her for interrupting once more. "_You stab yourself._The lead than goes into your bloodstream, up to your heart, and," he put his hands at his throat, coughed erratically, and sprawled out on the ground before Katie, squishing the plant she just made grow, "your dead." He closed his eyes and took one last dramatic breath.

Katie stared at him in amusement. "Has that ever _actually _happened to anyone?"

"I'm sure it has." Travis sat back up and stared at her. Without thinking, Katie brushed the stray dirt from his hair. She blushed and turned back to the plants as soon as she realized what she was doing. "And that's not the only way gardening kills."

Glad that he broke the awkward silence, she turned back to him with a small smile. "There's others?"

"Of course! So you're just planting veggies or whatever, when - oh no! - you have a sunburn. It just seems like a normal sunburn at first, but then you get sores, and it's all red, and oh my holy crap! You now have skin cancer! Do you know what I am saying?"

She laughed. "No need to worry, Travis. I won't get skin cancer."

"Still, gardening kills." They sat in silence as she planted some more seeds. "You can also die of boredom," he mumbled, lying back down in the dirt next to Katie.

She smirked. "It's not _that _boring."

"Yeah, it is."

"Ok, planting seeds can be kind of boring, but there's other things you can plant."

"Like?"

"Like trees, and bushes, and flowers."

"Which one's your favorite?"

"Flowers," she said without hesitation.

"I've never seen a need for flowers."

"The world always needs flowers."

"Whenever you get flowers, you just put them in a vase and they die a week later. No need."

Katie sighed. "Flowers can turn a plain, old, boring room into a cool, fresh, vibrant room! And you can say so much with flowers. Everything from, 'Hey, congratulations on the new breast implants!' to, 'Oh man! I am so sorry your leg just got cut off!' to, 'Wow. That is a nice boulder!' to," she shrugged, " 'I love you.' " She stared into Travis's eyes as she said those last few words, and he found that his breath had suddenly hitched and his mouth was very dry. They sat there, staring into each other's eyes for quite some time. Once Katie's words had sunk in, she looked away quickly with a blush on her cheeks.

Travis coughed and cleared his throat. "So, uh, what's your favorite flower?"

She smiled, glad that he had changed the subject. When answering, though, she still didn't look at him. She couldn't believe she had actually said that. "Amaryllises," she answered quickly.

"What's that?"

She couldn't help but quietly guffaw. "A flower."

"Well, obviously, but, like, what kind is it? What does it look like?"

"It's a reddish color. Sometimes it's pink or white. They're mostly just grown in South Africa so I've only seen one once other than in pictures. If I ever have a daughter I'm naming her Amaryllis."

Travis laughed. "Good luck getting the father to agree to that." She rolled her eyes and hit him lightly in the chest. "But aren't all girls supposed to like roses?"

She glanced at him through her peripheral while trying to plant another seed. "What?"

"In movies and stuff, the dudes always get their girlfriends roses. Isn't that supposed to be all girls' favorite flower?"

Katie smiled. "I guess so, but I hate roses."

"What? What girl hates roses?"

"This one. I just find them cliché, and the smell of roses always reminds me of old ladies."

He lay in thought for a bit while she finished filling in a hole with dirt. "They do kind of smell like old ladies."

* * *

Katie tightened her grip on the towel in her hands. After working out in the fields all day (well, kind of working. She had a very annoying distraction bugging her the entire time. . . Not that she minded it that much), she had finally gotten Travis to go off towards his non-birthday par-tay, and she left to go take a shower. The hot water washed away the dirt and grime and sweat, leaving her skin sparkly clean and smelling like watermelons. Her hair was still wet as she walked towards her cabin in her Strawberry Shortcake pajama bottoms and slippers. As she passed by the Hermes cabin, she heard the music blaring and the campers cheering. She had a strange urge to go in just to see what was happening.

Walking into her own cabin, she switched on the lights. It looked as if all of her brothers and sisters had went to join the fun. _Maybe just 5 minutes__ . . . _she thought. _No. It's Peeta __tonight. Peeta, Peeta, Peeta._

Katie walked over to her bed, and was about ready to plop down and grab her book when she noticed something on her pillow.

There, on the dirty, yellow pillow case, was a small red flower that Katie had only seen once before in her life. She grinned when she saw the tiny note attached.

'_Does Pita give you flowers?_'

Katie rolled her eyes, pulled on her boots, and walked out the door to the booming Cabin 11.

Once she walked up the familiar front steps, she knocked shyly on the door. Sure that no one had heard her, she grabbed the handle and twisted it, pushing the door open. She slid inside, completely unnoticed.

The bunks had mysteriously disappeared, leaving an empty space perfect for a dance floor. Campers were all over, flailing their arms and jumping around. In the middle of the floor, gathering a crowd, was Conner break-dancing (trying to, at least). Standing moodily in the corner with his arms crossed over his chest was Travis.

Katie quickly walked over to him. He did not look pleased. "How's your non-birthday par-tay going?" she asked.

He looked slightly surprised to see her, but remained frustrated. "Terrible. I haven't gotten a single present," he mumbled, looking back out at the dancing campers.

"I guess your rant worked. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Not on my non-birthday!" He sighed. Looking back at her, he seemed to finally realize that she was actually at the party. "But it's better now that you're here," he said with a sly smile.

Katie rolled her eyes, annoyed, but she couldn't really help the blush and small grin that came to her face. He had been into the lame and cheesy pick-up lines lately. They were starting to seriously annoy her, but she secretly didn't want him to stop. "How many more times do I have to tell you that those things don't work to make you stop?"

"A billion and two." He smirked wider and stepped a bit closer.

Taking a deep breath, Katie took out the flower from her pocket. "Where'd you get this?" she asked.

He stared at the amaryllis. "Well that's a pretty flower," he said as if he had never seen it in his life. "Almost as pretty-"

"Almost as pretty as me," she interrupted. "I know, but where did you get it?"

"How do you know I got it for you?"

"You're the only person I told that I was planning on reading tonight."

"It could've been one of your brothers or sisters. They were all out in the field, too. They could have overheard us."

Man, she hoped not. They always teased her enough about how she always seemed different around Travis. She giggled and was sweet and she flipped her hair while having no control over her body or her mouth. She hated what he did to her, but absolutely loved it at the same time.

"Yes," she said, breaking out of her thoughts, "but I'm pretty sure none of my brothers or sisters are idiotic enough to spell flowers wrong." She shrugged.

"I didn't spell flowers wrong," he fumed while trying to grab for the amaryllis in her hands. She pulled it back from him before he could harm it.

"I thought you didn't give me the amaryllis."

He dropped his hand back to his side and his cheeks suddenly turned a light shade of pink. "I didn't."

Katie beamed up at him. He was so busted. "Where did you get it?" she repeated.

Travis shrugged. "I know a guy."

She continued to smile up at him and he smiled down at her. Before she could change her mind or the idea could leave her brain, Katie stood up on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek, leaving them both bright red. Going back down her normal height, she stared back up at him.

"Best non-birthday par-tay ever."

* * *

I am so very sorry that this took me so long to post up! I've just been so busy with school, and homework, and testing, and ugh! Not only that, but my friend just got me totally addicted to South Park (which is why, yes, indeed, there's a South Park quote in this chapter! Who ever finds it gets a prize! It's a secret prize. Shh!). Peeta's in here too! If you know who he is and what book he's from you get another prize! Another secret prize. Shh!

Thank you so very much to Maci Daughter of Poseidon for suggesting the chapter G is for Gardening. And a special thanks to Chesty's Superbest Friend for not only giving me an idea for the chapter and beating the chpater, but for always being the superbest! Get it? I took the superbest from her name and . . . nevermind. Love you!

You guys can keep coming up with suggestions, too! Especially for H. My idea turned out to be crap so yeah.

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter G. "**G**ood **g**od, **G**ary!" **g**rowled **G**abe while **g**rumbling **g**rumpily to himself. He **g**rabbed at **G**ary's **g**rimy **g**rass skirt, and pulled him up so his **g**ladiator sandals hit the **g**ross, **g**lass floor. **G**abe **g**ot in his face and start **g**rowling once more. "CapN'Cupcake doesn't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, South Park, Peeta, or anything else for that matter! Now **g**et to **g**rinding the **g**ouda for the **g**arlic bread!"

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	8. H is for Head Shot, Biotch!

"Oh, I'm Conner. I'm amazing. I get to play the 'I only have one kidney' card to clean the attic. Blah, blah, blah," Travis mocked under his breath as he walked down the hall in the Big House. He also mumbled something about a 'ducking glass mole' too.

Why was he cursing his brother and small glass moles? Well it all started earlier in the day when Conner bet that Travis wouldn't run around the camp naked. Travis, on the other hand, was all for it. Half way through, though, Chiron had caught up and hauled them both over to the Big House (after making Travis put some clothes on first, of course) to discuss their punishments. They had both lost all dessert privileges for three months and had to clean the Big House. Great punishment, right?

Travis and Conner had decided to split it in two. Right before Travis could call dibs on the attic - which had now been much easier to clean having Rachel as the new Oracle - Conner ran up the steps. Travis tried to protest - he was the older brother, he should be able to choose what he wants to clean - but Conner, as always, said, "But . . . but I only have one kidney. I don't know if I'd be able to handle cleaning the harder parts." Bull shit! Yeah, maybe he was born with one less kidney than normal. That doesn't mean he can't clean! Chiron, on the other hand, bought the stupid excuse, and now he we are.

Travis continued to walk down the hallway, a bucket in one hand and a mop in the other. While passing by the storage closet, he could've sworn he heard something. A sniffle? A sob? He took two steps back, and put his ear up against the hard wood of the door. Yep. Someone was crying alright. Gods, Travis hated crying people. They were so annoying and loud, and have you noticed that whenever people cry they're really ugly? He couldn't handle it.

But stupid, stupid Conner made Travis clean the bathroom which means he needs to get the mirror cleaner which means he needs to go into the closet with the crying person which means he's going to have to comfort them. Ugh!

Travis knocked slightly on the door before opening it. To his surprise, he found a girl curled up in the corner, but not just any girl. It was a girl with dark, brown hair and an Oreo cookies container on her lap. It was a girl that Travis never would have thought knew how to cry. "Katie?"

She looked up from the Oreo in her hand. Her dark eyes were shiny and puffy. She looked a bit like Rudolph with her bright, red nose. When light from the hallway hit her face, she stood up and wiped her eyes. "Travis."

"You all right?" he asked hesitantly while stepping into the large closet. She nodded her head. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Were you crying?"

"No."

"I think I heard -"

"I don't cry," she interrupted.

"Ok," Travis mumbled. "But are you sure you're all right?"

Katie couldn't handle it anymore. Her bottom lip quivered a bit and she shook her head. The tears came fast and she grabbed for the closest object to cry on to: Travis. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder. She mumbled something that became muffled and inaudible by the fabric of Travis's shirt.

"What?" he asked, while gently and awkwardly wrapping his arms around her back and rubbing in small circles.

"We broke up," she said once more. Again, it was hard to understand, but Travis got the message.

"What?"

"Andrew and I. We broke up."

"Who?"

Katie took her face off his shoulder and looked up at him. "Andrew? From the Apollo cabin? My boy-" She stopped herself. "_Ex_-boyfriend," she sobbed before crying again into Travis's chest.

"You have a boyfriend?" he asked, confused.

"_Had__._"

"Since when?"

She took her head off his shoulder to look at him once again. "We went out for, like, 2 months."

"Really?"

Katie nodded and gave him a look that clearly said, 'Where the hell have you been?'

"Well, sorry I haven't been stalking you lately," he joked. She made some sound between a cry and a laugh, Travis wasn't really sure, and buried her head once more. "Why don't we sit down?" He coaxed her off of his shoulder and got her to sit back down in the corner, this time with Travis right next to her. "So what happened?"

She sniffled and grabbed another Oreo, breaking it in half and licking the frosting. Travis went to grab one too, but Katie hit his hand out of the way. "What are you doing?"

"Grabbing an Oreo?"

"No, no, no. These are mine."

"I can't have one?"

"Nope."

"What if I asked nicely?"

"No! These are my Oreos."

"I can't just have one?"

"No, no you can't."

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you? Stealing people's Oreos." She shook her head. "You need to be medicated."

Travis shook his own head and tried to forget about the cookie for a little while. "Just tell me what happened with Andrey."

"Andrew."

"Like I care." He grabbed for another cookie, but got hit once again. "Who broke up with who?"

"Well, we kind of broke up with each other."

"Why?"

"Well, he broke up with me because he said I wasn't in the relationship. He said I was always complaining about y-" She broke off and bit her lip. "Other people," she finished. "He said I was in love with them."

"Oo-o-o!" Travis mocked. "Who's this 'other people'?"

"Oh, well his first name's None Of and his last name's Your Business."

"Psh! I should've known! Who doesn't love him? I will admit, I became gay for a week or two the first time I met him."

Katie couldn't help but laugh slightly and shake her head. "I know, right? That None Of is just too gorgeous."

"Fine, I won't keep bugging you about it, but why'd you break up with him?"

"Oh." She smiled slightly and finished off the Oreo in her hand. "One time, when we were making out-"

"Do I wanna hear this?" Travis interrupted.

"Let me finish. So we were making out in the Strawberry Fields when he suddenly moans his mom's name."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Travis bust up laughing. "His . . . his mom's name?"

Katie waited for him to stop laughing before she continued speaking. "Yeah. He was all, 'Oh, Barbara.'" She cracked up along with Travis this time at her terrible impersonation.

"Really?" he spit out in between chuckles. She nodded. "Oh my gods!" They continued to laugh for a few minutes. "I can totally see why you'd break up with him."

"Yeah. Plus, he's like totally obsessed with Call of Duty. We barely ever hung out cuz he was always playing that."

"Wait," Travis said, grabbing for another Oreo and getting hit once more. "Is he the one that's always going, 'Head shot, bitch!'?" Katie nodded. "Dude! He killed me, like, ten times yesterday! I was so pissed!"

She laughed. "Yeah. He was pretty obsessed. Oh! And he liked muffins."

"Muffins?"

Katie nodded. "Muffins."

"Ugh! I hate muffins. They're such wannabe cupcakes."

"Exactly! How lame can you get?"

They sat in silence for a minute. "But have ever thought about the cupcake?" Travis asked.

"What about it?"

"It's kind of a wannabe, too, except with normal cakes."

"Have you gone to the Dark Side, Travis?"

"No, I promise I'm still a cupcake-er, but they are just smaller versions of cakes. Muffins aren't the only ones that wish they were something else."

She shook her head in mock disappointment. "You _have _gone to the Dark Side."

Travis laughed slightly and lay down on the dark floor. He pulled on a lock of Katie's hair. "Come on," he said.

"But it's gross and dirty."

"You can take a shower." She grumbled something under her breath and lay down next to him. "There you go."

They lay in a blissful silence together for a few minutes, just thinking. "Are you happy?" Travis asked.

She turned her head and looked at him. He did the same, and Katie couldn't help but notice just how close the two were. "Happy about what?" Her voice slightly choked on the last word. He was messing with her mind.

"About yours and Anthony's-"

"Andrew."

"Whatever. About the breakup. Are you happy about it?"

She turned her gaze away from his eyes and back towards the ceiling. It was harder to think, she realized, while staring into those baby blues. "I think."

"You think?"

"I think." She felt his hand on her cheek as he forced her to look at him. "I've never had a boyfriend before, you know? I've never broken up with anyone and nobody's broken up with me. It's just kind of sad and depressing."

"I know what you mean. When Jillian broke up with me, I never thought I'd be happy again."

"But you are happy again, right?"

He nodded and smiled, gazing into her eyes. "Yeah, I'm happy." Katie couldn't help but smile, too, and blush slightly. They lay there for a few more minutes in silence. Suddenly, Travis starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" A scowl had replaced the smile on her lips.

"Nothing." He shook his head with a smirk on his mouth. "It's just you're so vulnerable when you're gazing lovingly into my eyes."

"What? I was so not gazing lovingly into your eyes!"

"Yeah you were. It's hard not to, really."

Katie rolled her eyes. "What do you mean I'm vulnerable?"

"Well, it's so easy to just go like that" - he snapped and pulled an Oreo out of her ear - "and get yourself a cookie."

She gasped and grabbed for the Oreo, but he shoved it in his mouth just in time. "I hate you, you know?"

He answered, mouth full and crumbs falling out of the corners of his lips, "I know."

_1 hour later . . ._

Travis walked out of the Big House and out towards the Archery Range. As per usual, most of the Apollo cabin was out there shooting arrows and being the annoying jack-asses they are. He singled out his target. There he was. Five foot nine, blond hair, green eyes, "Absolutely gorgeous!" according to the Aphrodite girls. Travis walked up to said victim.

"You Andrew?" he asked.

Andrew looked a bit confused, amused, and slightly scared once seeing the anger in Travis's eyes. "What's it to you?"

Travis wasn't interested in introductions or confrontations. He punched Andrew square in the face, sending him to the ground with a crack.

"What the hell was that for?" he shouted.

Once again, Travis didn't answer his question. Before walking away, he yelled, "Head shot, bitch!"

* * *

First off, I am so sorry that I didn't get to reply back to any of the reviews from last chapter! I'm just a lazy, busy author! I appreciate every single review that I get, but you know much of a bitch school can be (just 19 more days, suckha!)! I also know that I didn't use a single one of your amazing suggestions. Trust me, they were all great, but none of them were screaming out ideas for me, you know? Anywho, feel free to give me any other suggestions that you have. You never know! I may use one!

Thanks so much to Chesty's Superbest Friend as always! You're the bestest! Love ya!

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter H. **H**enry, the **h**appy, **h**airy, **h**ockey **H**all-of-Famer **h**eard the **h**ippy, **H**elen, **h**yperventilating while also **h**ammering on and on to **h**er pet **h**amster, **H**ayden, about **h**ow CapN'Cupcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Oreos, Call of Duty, of anything else I mentioned. **H**umph!

Oh! And I do enjoy muffins, I do, but I can't help but say that cupcakes are kinda better. Do muffins covered in delicious frosting? No, I think not.

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	9. I is for I Love You

Travis's jaw dropped as he stepped out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind him gently so as not to wake up Katie. Right before his eyes was the most horrible sight he'd ever seen. Now, Travis has seen some horrible stuff in his life - Kronos, dead people, his grandma in her underwear - but this, oh _this_ had to be the worst thing he'd ever seen. There, standing in his kitchen was Timmy.

Timmy?

Yes, Timmy. Eggs, toast crumbs, and pieces of bacon were strewn about his face. Luckily, he had the courtesy to wipe his mouth, but what he was using to do so made Travis want to punch the poor boy in the throat.

In the last month, Chiron had decided that some of the campers were lonely and needed a good influence, so he started that whole 'Big Brothers, Big Sisters' program at camp. Conner, being fired from his last job and being such a 'good influence' (Travis laughed hysterically at this), had decided to sign up. Timmy was now his full responsibility for the next eight weeks. The previous night, Conner had decided to let him sleep over, telling him that if he heard moaning and thumping coming from Travis's and Katie's room to just ignore it cuz they were just wrestling. Yes, he indeed got smacked.

But seeing Timmy messy was not what made Travis gape at him that morning of Katie's birthday- the first of which Travis is present as the official boyfriend. What made him gape was the fact that he had _eaten Katie's breakfast. _Travis had spent who knows how long making that breakfast last night after Katie had gone to bed, making sure to spell out those three special words he had been dying to tell her since they first started going out, with pieces of bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs. To top it all off, he had even written her a sappy, crappy poem and placed it neatly next to the plate, planning to have the whole thing waiting for her when she woke up.

But now it was ruined.

And Timmy was at fault.

"No," Travis muttered under his breath, pacing over to the kitchen and grabbing the poem out of Timmy's dirty hands. He opened it up quickly, ripping the corner slightly. That rip didn't matter much compared to the smeared eggs and little boy spit that blurred all the words, making them unreadable. "No, no, no," he moaned.

"What happened?" Timmy asked curiously.

Travis glared down at him furiously. "What happened? _What happened? You_ happened, little boy!" he shouted. "Did this look like it was for you? Did it? Did it say 'For Timmy' anywhere on this breakfast?"

His eyes had become wide and watery. His bottom lip began to quiver. "N-No."

"Then why would you even think about eating it!"

"C-C-Conner said I could eat a-anything out here."

Travis let out a frustrated yell. "Of course he did, cuz Conner's an ass who doesn't use his fu-"

"Travis," Katie warned from the doorway of their bedroom. "Chill."

"But . . . but . . ." he stammered.

"Come on, Timmy. You can come and watch TV in our room," Katie told the boy, wiping his tears and pushing him into the bedroom, shutting the door after him. She turned around and stared at her boyfriend with raised eyebrows.

"I don't like him," he said simply. Katie couldn't help but smile. Only Travis would have a grudge with a nine year old boy.

"And why not?" she asked, stepping across the room so she was right in front of him. She put her arms around his neck and brought him down to kiss her.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he said, "He's a stupid little bastard and he deserves to rot in the Fields of Punishment."

"Someone has anger issues." She laughed as he glared at her. "Seriously, what did he do?"

"He ate your breakfast," Travis mumbled. She looked around him at the mess on the table.

"You made me breakfast?" she questioned with a smile. "I didn't know you knew how to make anything other than cereal."

"Well I can, and it was delicious." He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I made you a poem, too."

The humor disappeared from Katie's eyes. "You seriously wrote me a poem?"

He nodded his head sadly, "Yeah. But then the devil had to go and use it as a napkin." She couldn't help but laugh slightly at that. "It's not funny."

"It kind of is." She nodded. "It doesn't matter anyways. I said I didn't need anything special. You said you weren't going crazy with gifts."

"Writing you a poem and making you breakfast isn't going crazy."

"For you it is. You gave me a glue stick for my sixteenth birthday."

"But this is different," he whined. "We weren't going out back then and you hated my guts. Giving you a glue stick was just part of my evil genius plan to get you to like me."

"How?" she asked.

"It's complicated." He sighed and watched as her fingers fixed his tie. "I'm really sorry."

"It's no problem. I can make myself breakfast and clean up this mess. You just have to hurry to get to work. Denise will kill you if you're late again." It was true. Just last week Travis had run into a _dracaena_ on his way to work, making him half an hour late and not properly dressed seeing as his entire right sleeve had been cut off. His boss was not very happy, but what was Travis supposed to say? 'Yeah, I was just attacked by some mythical creature with snakes as its legs.'

He sighed. "Fine." After grabbing his briefcase, wallet, and jacket, he gave her a quick kiss. "Happy birthday," he mumbled against her lips.

She smiled and kissed him back. "Why thank you." Travis walked towards the door and was just about to walk out when he decided he had to tell her sometime.

"Hey, Katie," he said without turning around.

"Hmm?"

"I just wanted you to know that I lo-"

"_Katie!_" came a high-pitched voice from the bedroom. Did Timmy have to ruin everything?

"I better go see what he needs." Travis nodded. "I'll see you later, okay?" He nodded once more.

"Yeah, see ya," he muttered while walking out of the door.

* * *

"Vigalo's Flowers. We are flowers."

"You are flowers?"

"Look, we have to say it, 'kay? Just, what do you want?"

"I need a dozen amaryllises sent to-"

"Wouldn't it be amaryllisi?"

"Excuse me?"

"Wouldn't the plural be amaryllisi instead of amaryllises? You know, like octopus goes to octopi? Oh, or maybe it goes to amarylliseese, like goose goes to geese."

"You know what I've always wondered? I know goose goes to geese, then why doesn't moose go to meese?"

"I've wondered that too!"

"It just doesn't make any sense."

"I know."

"So, can I get those amaryllises or amaryllisi or amarylliseese or whatever?"

"Oh. Oh no."

"What?"

"We only have roses."

"But on your website it says 'Flowers of all kind are available 24/7!' "

"Yeah."

"So . . . "

"We have red roses, white roses, yellow roses, and pink roses."

"That's it?"

"Mmhm."

"But I _need _amaryllises! Katie hates roses."

"What chick hates roses?"

"My chick! I need amaryllisi."

"Well we don't have any."

"Your motto is 'Roses, and vases, and more! Oh my!' What the hell does 'more' mean?"

"More roses?"

"Ugh!"

* * *

Travis smiled as he saw the caller ID on his cell phone. "Sup, beautiful," he answered.

"Oh my gods! I love you, too, y'all!" shouted a voice over the speaker that was obviously not Katie.

His smile turned into an angry frown. "What the hell do you want, Conner?"

"It's just, _sniffle_, me and Timmy were just sitting here, watching the game, waiting for the Pizza Hut guy, when the doorbell rings. We open it up, and do we see a pizza man? No! We see a giant flower singing about how much you love us." He erupted into a fit of laughter. "Too classic, man."

"That was for Katie!" he said as loud as he dared. Denise was still in her office, groaning and moaning with the door closed, but she's been known to have the ears of a hawk, the nose of a dog, and the sight of a bat. Ooooh. Chills. "Where is she?"

"Oh, she went out a while ago to the mall with Melani." Travis groaned. "How much did you pay that guy anyway? Hopefully not much. He was a terrible singer."

"Goodbye, Conner."

"Oh! And on your way home, can you get some more Cheez-itz or something. Timmy and I had a Cheez-itz fight earlier and now they're all gone."

"Sure, whatever."

"Thanks."

"Such a good influence," Travis mumbled under his breath after hanging up.

* * *

Travis was so glad when he finally got to Joe's Pizza and he saw Katie's smiling face. Joe's had been their favorite restaurant ever since they started dating. They had their first date, first fight, and first make-out session all at Joe's (and all in one night, too).

"Hey, you," she said as she walked up to him and gave him a small peck on the lips. "How was work?"

"You don't even wanna know," he muttered while they followed the host to their usual table.

"What'd Denise make you do this time? Make sock puppets? Do the Macarena in a gorilla suit?" Katie asked, looking over her menu.

"It wasn't just her. Just the entire day was . . . suckish."

"I'm sorry." She apologetically rubbed his arm.

After ordering their drinks, Travis asked, "What about your day?"

"Oh, Melani and I went to the mall."

"I heard."

"Really?"

"Conner."

"Of course. We went and saw that new Clash of the Titans movie, too."

"Was it any good?"

"It was pretty good. I didn't really pay attention much, though."

"What was your favorite part?"

"Oh." She blushed. "Well, have you ever seen the _real _Perseus?"

"Yeah. On Bring-Your-Kid-To-Work Day, Dad brought me down to the Underworld to give Hades some mail and what not. I saw him when we were down there."

"The Perseus in the movie was so-o-o much hotter, I swear. I just liked staring at his abs the entire time."

"Was the Andromeda from the movie as sexy as the real one?"

"You're just trying to make me jealous!"

"Yeah, a little bit."

"Well it's not gonna work."

"Well fine then. I won't tell you that the real one isn't even all that hot. Plus, I've seen the previews. The one in the movie isn't either."

"You don't think so?"

"Naw. And even if I did, I don't really like the whole princess kind. I usually like the ridiculously beautiful kind that like to plant things and have weird obsessions with cereal and Harry Potter."

"You're just trying to make me blush."

"It's working, isn't it?"

Katie bowed her head. "Yes."

Travis laughed and set his napkin down. "I've got to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

" 'Kay," she said, lifting her head back up. She started playing with her straw wrapper as he left the booth.

Travis stopped by the counter before heading to the bathroom. He had a clear view of the entire kitchen. He motioned over Felix, the head chef, from where he was standing.

"Hey, Travis!" he shouted, leaving the rolled up dough to say hello. "I haven't seen you in forever."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. We've been real busy lately." He shrugged.

"We? You and Katie still together, no?"

"Yeah, we're still together. It's Katie's birthday, actually."

"Ooh. Birthday. You get her something special?"

"Not really. Not yet. But I was wondering if you could do something for me."

"Me?"

"Yeah. I want to tell Katie I love her. I was thinking that maybe you could write 'I heart you' in pepperoni or something."

"I heart you?"

"Yeah, you know. I and then a little heart, and then you."

Felix smiled slowly. "I see, I see. I think I can do that."

"Thanks so much. I'll see you later, Felix."

"Wait, what table are you at?"

"The usual."

"Cool beans, buddy."

"Later." Travis walked away with a smile on his face. There was no way this was going to be messed up this time. No way.

* * *

"Ugh," Katie groaned. "Where the freak is our pizza? I'm starving!"

"Chillax," Travis said. "They're cooking as fast as they can back there."

"Whatever. I'm hungry."

"I'm sure it's coming out soon." He glanced over at the kitchen doors, waiting for a waiter to come out with the most important pizza in his life. As if by magic, a waitress came out carrying said pizza. He could see the special pepperoni placings from his seat. Travis had never seen this waitress before, though. She must've been new. His heartbeat sped up a bit as she got nearer and nearer to the table. But right before stopping at their table, she took a sharp left and dropped off the tray to a woman in a business suit. It looked as if she was dining with her boss. After reading the message, she gaped up at him before slapping him across the face and running out of the restaurant.

Travis stood up from his seat abruptly. "No!" he hollered to no one.

"Travis!" Katie shouted, glaring at him and trying to get him to sit back down. People were staring.

"No!" he yelled again, this time aimed towards the new waitress. He pointed angrily to her.

"Travis," Katie said again, quieter this time but her tone was even sharper.

"That was our pizza!"

"We can order another."

"No, Katie! No! We can't order another! Not like that!"

"Travis, what's wrong with you?" she asked loudly.

"What's wrong with me!" he screamed. "What's wrong with me! I don't know. Maybe I've just been trying to tell you I love you all freaking day long and every time I do, it somehow gets messed up!" Katie opened her mouth to say something, a slight look of shock on her face, but Travis shushed her before she could. She looked around nervously. People were starting to stare now, including the waiters who had stopped serving food to watch. The kitchen staff were even poking their heads out from behind the counter. She even saw Felix trying to get a better view from the small window in the kitchen doors.

"No!" Travis yelped. "First, Timmy ate your breakfast, and then he used the poem Melani helped me write for a napkin, and then I tried to write you an email but Denise almost caught me so I had to exit out and it didn't save, and then at lunch I wrote you a song but nobody in the office would sing it for you and I sure as hell wasn't gonna sing it, and then I tried to get you some flowers but all they had were roses and I know you hate roses, so I tried to get you some chocolates but all they had were those crappy kind with the fruit stuff inside and nobody actually likes those, and then I tried to get one of those lame telegram thingies but you were at the mall, so I tried to tell you even in a text cuz I was getting desperate but then I remembered I didn't pay the bill last week so no cell phones for us, and so just now I went and asked Felix to make you a special pizza that said 'I love you' on it and then they'd give it to you and then you'd know that I gods damn love you, Katie!"

He finished the speech out of breath. The look on his face suddenly got softer and his voice less harsh. "I love you, and . . . and I just wanted you to know."

Katie was crying with a wide smile on her face. She bit her lip before saying, "I love you, too." A chorused 'Aww!' came from the crowd watching.

Travis looked a bit better after that, a small grin on his lips. "You do?" he asked in a small voice.

Her smile grew, and she stood up to match his height. "Of course I do."

"Good, good," he mumbled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. "That's good."

"Well don't just stand there!" yelled an elderly man some tables away after a few seconds of the couple just holding each other and staring into their eyes. "Kiss her!"

Travis looked towards Katie with a raised eyebrow, as if asking for approval. "Do as the man says, Travis," she scolded, bringing her arms up around his neck. "Kiss me."

* * *

Let's start this author's note out by saying I am really sorry. But I do have a good excuse actually. SWINE FLU! Ha, just kidding. It's herpes.

Anyways, I seriously am really, _really _sorry. But guess what Friday is? 'Chimichanga day?' No, actually, but I do wish. It's my last day of school, though, meaning I'll have the entire summer to write, write, write. Yeah. That's three whole writes.

Now, I promise this next chapter won't take like two weeks or whatever. I promise. But with this next chapter, I need all y'all readers' help. Should J be for Jealousy where Travis gets uber jealous when Katie starts talking to Conner, or should J be for Jail where Travis gets caught stealing and he goes to jail and Katie has to bail him out. So you get to pick this next chapter, my dear readers.

Oh! And I just thought I'd tell you all how freaking much I love every single one of you cuz guess what story just got over a hundred reviews! Yeah! That's right! Mine! A big ol' thank you to all! And a special thanks to the dearest Chesty's Superbest Friend who helps me out with _everything! _You're freaking amazing my dear! Oh chickles! Te he!

**EDIT: **I changed it from their anniversary to Katie's birthday cuz it just seemed ridiculous for them to wait a year to say the L word. Especially for Travis who has been totally head over heals since they first met.

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter I. **I**sabelle, the **i**ncredibly **i**mpressive **i**mmigrant from **I**ndonesia, **i**dentified the **i**nfamous **i**guana, **I**saac, as an **i**ncopetent **i**diot because he was **i**nforming everyone that CapN'Cupcake owns Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Cheez-itz, any place named Joe's Pizza, or anything else for that matter, when she **i**ndeed does not.

Lather, rinse, review! Oh! And don't forget to vote for J is for J...!

:) Jordan


	10. J is for Jealousy

"What the hell is his problem!" Travis shouted loudly while looking out the window of Chiron's office.

"I believe the correct wording would be 'What the _Hades _is his problem?' instead of using the inappropriate word of H-E-double hockey-" Chiron began.

"Oh, shut up, Chiron!" he shouted without taking his eyes off of the subject outside the window. His voice was clouded with hurt and anger. "Nobody gives a shit!"

The older man looked startled at Travis's forcefulness. Rolling his wheelchair over to the window, he questioned kindly, "My boy, may I ask what is making you so frustrated?"

Travis huffed rudely. "That!" He pointed out the window, and Chiron followed with his eyes. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There were demigods training in the swords center, and Aphrodite girls swooning over Apollo boys shooting arrows. The Isis and the Dionysus cabins were having a chariot race while some satyrs chased around wood nymphs nearby. Demeter kids were planting strawberries in the fields, and the Hermes kids were having a volleyball game against the Athena cabin. Nothing was out of the ordinary. "They make me sick," Travis mumbled under his breath.

"I'm sorry, but what _exactly _are we looking at?" Chiron asked.

He threw his arms up in frustration. "Conner and Katie! Conner and Katie!" he yelled, pointing at them in the distance. Far, far away, almost out of sight, sat Conner and Katie in the Strawberry Fields. It looked as if she was teaching him how to garden. They were digging and laughing and smiling. Travis, on the other hand, was huffing and puffing and flinching. "Look at them, laughing and shit. _Disgusting._ They just make me want to punch a baby in the throat and then let it go die in a hole."

Chiron rolled away from the window and back to his desk. "Well if they are frustrating you so, boy, why don't you stop looking?"

"I need to make sure Conner doesn't do anything to her. I won't let him hurt her." He looked so pained by the sight, it made Chiron feel a bit bad for him.

"Well, what will you do if Conner does something to her?" he asked.

Anger covered the pain in Travis's eyes. "I'm going to go over there, punch him in the throat, and then let him go die in a hole."

"All right, that's enough," Chiron said, rolling his chair back over to the window. He pulled on a string, and the blinds rolled down, blocking out the children outside. Travis made a strangled noise in the back of his throat, and tried to peer outside by pulling the blinds away. He whimpered again when Chiron smacked his hand and he couldn't see anything but the small, white blinds. "Sit down, Travis."

"But-" he started, pointing at the window helplessly.

"_Sit down._"

Travis let out a sad sigh and walked around Chiron's desk to the small, plushy chair he had sat in numerous times. Whenever he got in trouble at camp he was sent to Chiron's office. It was just like the principal's office at his old school that he went to before coming to camp, except Chiron's smelt like stinky horse.

"Please elaborate on what is making you so angry, Travis," Chiron said.

"It's stupid ass Conner. He just decided this morning that he was going to make my life miserable so he goes out there and he's all flirting and shit. Ugh! It pisses me off!" he shouted through gritted teeth.

"And how does that make you feel?" he asked, writing down notes and pushing his glasses farther up his nose like some sort of psychologist.

"I just said it pisses me off! Do you need me to go farther? It makes me want to pull my hair out and stomp me feet. It makes me want to punch Conner repeatedly in the face. It makes me want to bury him alive in a funeral house filled with zombies. It makes me want to lock him in a room with surround sound as it blares Justin Bieber music. It makes me want to shove one of those fake hearing devices so far up his ass he can hear his own small intestine as it produces shit! It makes me-"

"I see none of these involve Katie," Chiron observed, cutting Travis off mid-rant.

"Of course they don't! I love her!"

"Then have you ever thought that maybe you're jealous?"

Travis stared at Chiron completely awestruck. "Me?" he asked. "Jealous? Ha! I laugh at that!" Was that a blush appearing on his cheeks?

Chiron sighed. "Okay, then. Let's imagine something, shall we? Let's say I have a girlfriend." Travis chuckled, earning him a glare from Chiron. He bowed his head to avoid the older man's gaze. "Let's say I have a girlfriend," Chiron repeated. "One day, I see her talking to Mr. D. and I take things way out of proportion, thinking he's flirting with her and trying to steal her away from me. I then go up to him and punch him in the throat, as you say. What do you say about that, Travis?"

"I'd say you're a jealous bastard who seriously needs to just chillax a little bit." It was silent between the two of them as the meaning sunk in. Travis stood up from his chair abruptly. "I am _so _not jealous!" he shouted before stomping out of the room moodily.

* * *

Travis decided that before he went all crazy bitch on Conner, he had to make sure that he was actually hitting on Katie. Now, a normal person would go up to the two of them and confront them right there, asking about their feelings and stating their own, but Travis was no normal person. So, of course, he hid behind a bush and spied on them.

"So you just dig a hole," Travis heard Katie say from behind the leaves of a large strawberry plant. He could see her digging around in the dirt through a small break of vegetation. "And then you put the seed in." She dropped a seed. "And then you cover it back up." She covered the hole back up with excess dirt. "You've just learned how to plant a seed," she said, staring up at Conner.

"Huh," he huffed, a perplexed expression on his face. "You make it look so easy."

Katie laughed. What the shit hole? Travis had always been able to make her laugh. Always. But Conner? Never. "Because it _is _easy."

Conner grinned. "But do you know who you're talking to? I find making cereal by myself hard."

"That's because your brain is the size of a pea." What the shit hole _again_? Katie had never said that _Travis's _brain was the size of a pea. Of course, he was pissed.

"Yes, but I promise you, all my other organs are, oh, _quite _large."

Travis couldn't keep it inside his head this time. "What the shit hole!" he shouted loudly, standing up from his crouching position behind the bush and revealing himself. "She doesn't want to hear about your dick, Conner!"

Conner stood up to match his brother's height. "How do you know I'm talking about my dick?" he yelled.

"What 'other organ' would you be talking about?" he bellowed, using air quotes.

"I don't know! My heart!"

Travis guffawed. "Yeah, right! Your heart's like a black hole!"

"You dirty little bastard."

"I'm the bastard? Ha! But you're right about one thing, though."

"What's that?"

"Your dick's bigger than a pea. It's the size of a Tic-Tac, actually."

"A pea's bigger than a Tic-Tac!"

"Not the baby kind!"

"Guys, shut up!" Katie shouted. Once the brothers were quiet, she relaxed a bit and asked, "Travis, what are you doing here?"

He suddenly went stiff. "I-I wasn't spying on you."

She couldn't help but smile. "I never said you were."

"Well that's good. Cuz I wasn't."

Katie laughed slightly and shook her head.

"Ha," Conner said pitifully. "You're so funny, Travis." He took a step forward so he was standing right next to Katie, and he threw an arm around her shoulder. She seemed surprised by this. Surprised and slightly disgusted. "But it doesn't matter anymore, cuz Katie and I are in love."

"What!" Travis shouted, hurt and anger obvious in his tone. He was seeing red.

"In love?" Katie's face distorted even more, making her look as if she smelt something absolutely terrible.

"Yes. In love. Isn't that right, Katie?" Conner asked, turning his head to face her. He winked at her slyly.

"No!" she shouted, shaking her head violently.

Conner rolled his eyes, and bent down so that their lips were touching.

Travis couldn't believe what he was seeing. This wasn't happening. His brother was so not kissing Katie right now. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, hoping that maybe when he opened them up again, he would wake up in his bedroom and Conner would go back to hating Katie and everything would be normal.

But when he opened his eyes again, he was not in his bedroom. He was out in the Strawberry Fields and Conner and Katie were kissing right in front of him.

She pushed him back fiercely, making Conner stumble a bit. "What the hell was that?" she shouted. "That was _so _not part of the plan!"

"The plan?" Travis asked curiously, but neither of them paid attention.

"I know it wasn't," Conner said. "But I felt something, Katie, and I know you feel it, too. We belong together." Travis saw him wink at her and raise his eyebrows. What plan were they talking about earlier?

"Bitch, please!" she shouted. She spit on the ground, and pointed at it with a sickened look on her face. "I wasn't chewing gum before!"

"Please, Katie," begged Conner.

"Never! Even if there's a fire!" she yelled before running off back towards camp.

The two brothers were left alone in an awkward silence.

"So . . ." Conner trailed off.

Travis rolled his eyes. "Ass hole," he muttered under his breath before sprinting towards Katie.

He caught her just as she was about to go into the girl's bathroom. "Hey," he said, completely out of breath.

She smiled slightly. "Hey. I was just about to go wash out my mouth repeatedly. Wanna come?"

Travis hesitated. "In there?" he asked, pointing towards the door.

She grinned wider. "Yeah."

"But it's the _girl's _bathroom."

Katie laughed. "In case you haven't noticed, Travis, I'm a girl."

"Yeah, and in case _you _haven't noticed, I'm not."

She rolled her eyes before grabbing his wrist and dragging him towards the door. "Come on."

He stopped her before they both entered. "I'm scared," he whispered.

Laughing once more, she said, "What is there to be scared of?"

He shrugged and was about to answer when Clarisse stepped out of the door of the bathroom. When passing by Travis she shoved him, making him stumble back and fall on his butt. "Fag," she said over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Did that answer your question?" he asked, standing up and dusting off his clothes.

"She left now. Come on." Katie grabbed his wrist once more and pulled him into the bathroom.

The walls were white and completely blank except for the occasional 'Alisa was here! ;)' There were showers on one wall, stalls on another, and a row of sinks hanging below one giant mirror. They were the only campers in there, thank the gods.

"See?" Katie asked, releasing his wrist and walking towards the sinks. "Nothing scary." She turned on a sink and starting gathering a pool of water in her hands.

Travis followed and stood next to her, watching their reflections in the mirror. He bit his lip before muttering, "I'm sorry Conner was being such an ass back there."

She shook her head. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. It's mine, actually," she said. She brought the small pool of water in her hands up to her mouth and slurped it. She began gurgling it around, trying to clean out all trace of Conner.

Travis shook his own head. "You can't help how hot you are, Katie."

He thought he heard her laugh, but wasn't completely sure. He couldn't tell with the gurgling. She spit out the water, wiped her mouth, and turned to him with a smile. "That's not what I meant."

He looked at his shoes, embarrassed, feeling the heat on his cheeks. "Oh."

"But thanks, I guess. I meant that, well, I heard about what you did to Andrew."

Travis looked up. "Who?" he asked, confusion etched on his face.

She rolled her eyes. "Andrew. My ex-boyfriend." She sighed. "The guy that you punched in the face a few weeks ago."

He bowed his head once more, his blush coming back. "Oh. Oh right."

"Well, I thought that if you'd get that jealous and do something so drastic like that to someone you didn't even know, I wanted to see what you'd do if it was your own brother."

"Well, that was - wait! _What?_"

"I wanted to see-"

He cut her off. "No, no, no! I heard it the first time! You think I'm . . . _jealous_?"

"Well, yeah. What else would you call it?" she asked, a slight, mocking smile on her lips.

"Ha! Psh! Psh! . . . Psh! I am so not . . . _jealous_."

"Then what are you, Travis?"

"I'm-I'm not jealous, that's for sure. I've never been jealous before in my life, actually. Never. And I never will be. Even if there's a fire."

Katie turned back to the mirror and started fixing her pony tail. "Fine then," she said. "Then you wouldn't mind me telling you that I think Conner's a better kisser."

Travis bit his tongue so hard he wasn't surprised when he tasted the bitterness of blood. "That doesn't bother me at all," he muttered through clenched teeth.

Katie had to hold back a laugh. "Good. Let's go." They walked out of the bathroom and towards the Demeter cabin. "Have you ever felt your brother's hands?" she asked. "They're so soft."

"You touched them?"

"I held them."

Travis refused to crack. "That's nice."

Katie smiled. "Oh, and his hair! I ran my hands through it. It was so soft, thick, and luscious."

He wasn't going to crack. He wasn't going to crack.

"And his lips, oh his lips, were so soft! And they tasted like Corn Pops. I love Corn Pops."

He cracked. Grabbing her hand, he quickly pulled her to him and kissed her fiercely. She returned the kiss with equal force. He made sure to hold on to one of her hands and to have the other in his hair. He was also sure to make this kiss he was giving her the best one he'd ever give in his life.

He pulled back after a bit and stared down at Katie. "Is Conner still the better kisser?" His voice came out dark and husky, sending chills down her back. She silently shook her head. "And my hands?"

"Like a baby's bottom."

"What about my lips? What do they taste like?"

"Fruity Pebbles."

"What's with you and cereal?"

"I like it."

"What about Fruity Pebbles? Do you like those?"

She nodded.

"More than Corn Pops?"

"Much more."

"And my hair? Is it soft, thick, and luscious?"

She nodded once more and smiled.

"Good."

Katie motioned for him to bend down. He did as such and she pressed her lips to his ear, bringing chills down his spine. She whispered, "Conner's hair was still softer, though."

Travis stared at her, shocked and slightly amused. She shrugged and ran up the Demeter cabin steps, waving to him as she closed the door.

He was so using conditioner from now on.

* * *

So I have four whole annoucement thingys for this AN. Four. Cuatro. I don't know how to say four any other way so hopefully you know what I'm talking about.

Number one! Holy shit, my friends! Has anyone else read those, like, fifty pages of the Lost Hero yet? No? YOu must! Go! Right now! Go to c a m p h a l f b l o o d . c o m (minus the spaces, obviously) and type in newhero in the little password thingy. And you read that shit and tell me if you are as equally as pissed as I am right now!

Number dos! I'm going to guess that at least one of you out there owns a copy of the Last Olympian. I do, too, except my friend (who's seriously like the slowest freaking reader EVER!) is currently borrowing it. I need something from it, though. So, obviously, I come to you, my loyal, loving fans for help. If you can, can you go to that one part right after everyone in Manhatten falls asleep and Percy's like telling every cabin and stuff where to go? Right before Thalia gets there. Can you go there and tell me where Percy assigns the Demeter cabin and the Hermes cabin? Pretty please with a cherry on top? Thank ya! This is going to be helping with the next chapter so the faster I get it, the faster I'll update!

Number C! I completely forgot to do this in the last AN! You, yes you, need to go read Go Elephants Go's Tratie fic Shutting Up Katie Gardner! Right now! Go! I totally meant to say this in the last chapter, and now I think she's kinda pissed at me. To make her no longer pissed at me, please go and read it and leave an awesome review! It's a great fic, trust me!

Number IV! See, when I was like half way through this chapter, I went to go take a break and chill a little and stuff. During said break, I came up with another idea for J is for Jealousy! I was so happy! I was going to just scrap this and only write that when I realized, 'Oh shit. It doesn't have Conner.' I know that some of you only voted for Jealousy because I said Conner was going to be in it. So instead, I still wrote it just I'm going to post it as it's own little one-shot drabble thing. So if you're reading this right now, it probably like just got posted up so go, read and review, please!

So I think that's all. As always, I need to give big, big, big thanks to the one and only Chesty's Superbest Friend! It's almost our anniversary soon! Te he! Oh and sorry for the longest Author's Note in the history of Author's Notes!

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to by the letter J. **J**effree, the **j**umbo, **j**iggly, **j**aguar who takes **j**oy in **j**umbling **j**umping beans and **J**ello together, and **j**ogging though **J**acksonville, also enjoys to **j**eer and **j**abber about how CapN'Cupcake doesn't own Percy **J**ackson and the Olympians, Tic-Tacs, Fruity Pebbles, Corn Pops, or anything else she mentioned at all.

Lather, Rinse, Review!

:) **J**ordan


	11. K is for Knight in Shining Armor

"Bitch, please," Travis mumbled under his breath as a _dracaena _tried to attack him. This was his, what? Like, thirteenth _dracaena _of the day? Psh! All were the same: idiotic, smelly, and weird. Just cuz he was a child of Hermes _doesn't_ mean he's not dangerous. Shoot, Luke's a son of Hermes and he's now the host for a crazy Titan lord who's currently trying to overthrow the gods. _Seriously, Kronos, give me__a challenge__for once_, Travis thought as he sliced, parried, and drove his sword right into the heart of the monster. She died with a screech that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

After jumping over the _dracaena_'s powdered remains, Travis continued to run. Back at the Plaza, he had heard a Demeter girl, identity unknown, had apparently been cut with a poisoned dagger. She had died within the hour. He had to make sure it wasn't Katie. He just had to make sure.

Travis stopped in his tracks as he found exactly what he was looking for. About thirty feet away from where he stood, Katie was battling a Laistrygonian giant all by herself with just a small sword and some crazy vines with a mind of their own. He had to stifle a laugh as the giant keeled over in pain before disappearing into dust. This was why he liked Katie so much. Nobody else he knew would ever even think about stabbing a Laistrygonian giant in the nut sack. Nobody.

Katie was staring at the dust as it blew away in the wind. Her hair was flapping wildly, and she had a crazy look in her eyes that only someone who had just stabbed a giant in the balls could have. She was breathing heavily, and Travis thought she looked the most gorgeous he had ever seen her.

But then a stupid enemy's arrow aimed for her heart had to come and ruin the picture.

Most people would start yelling and screaming at the person about to be hit to get out of the way and run.

But Travis wasn't most people.

He ran and ran as fast as he could. He had a strange urge to shout, "You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man!" but decided that now wasn't really the time. Plus, his chest was heaving so much, shouting would just make it much worse. The only thing he could hear was the rubble being crushed under his Converse and the fast paced beating of his heart.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he was within inches of Katie. He grabbed her and tackled her to the ground forcefully, while his arm erupted with pain.

She gasped as they hit the ground, not expecting Travis's moves at all. Once she got a grip on the situation, she pushed Travis off of her and stood up abruptly. Quickly, she aimed a dozen or so killer vines in the direction the arrow came from. Within just a second, a half-blood, about eighteen or so, was pulled from behind a stray car, vines wrapped tightly around his neck. He clawed at them with his fingernails helplessly. Travis stared in silent shock at the boy lying completely motionless a few yards away. Katie seemed fixed by the sight, too. The vines uncurled from around his neck and shrank back into the ground around Katie's feet.

"You-You aren't supposed to kill the enemy demigods. Just injure them," Travis choked out, eyes still fixed on the body.

Katie snapped around, bringing Travis's attention back to her. The look on her face portrayed shock. "You . . ." She trailed off at a loss for words. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "You saved my life," she whispered, opening her eyes once more.

"So am I your knight in shining armor or something now?" he asked through gritted teeth while still lying on the ground. One hand gripped his shoulder viciously.

She rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips the way she always did when she was annoyed. "I try to be nice to you for once, _just once_, and you have to go and ruin it. Ugh! You ruin _everything!_" Her voice had changed from the quiet, pathetic whisper from before to her normal, loud and annoyed yell that she always used while in the presence of a Stoll.

"It's kind of in my job description to ruin _everything!_" he said calmly, mocking her words at the end.

Katie flared her nostrils. "Is it normal for people to want to punch you in the face?"

"Occasionally." He laughed slightly, but then winced. "But would you really want to punch an injured fellow in the face?" he asked.

Rolling her eyes once more, she stomped her foot on the found moodily. "You aren't injur-" She gasped when she saw the arrow sticking out between his fingers on his shoulder. Her voice changed once again to that worried whisper from before. "Oh my gods, you're injured."

"Really!" Travis gasped sarcastically and looked over at his shoulder as much as he could while removing his hand. "Since when has that been there!"

Her expression changed yet again, this time into an angry glare. "You suck ass."

"Actually, I'm not really one for ass sucking," he said as he watched Katie get down on her knees next to him to examine the wound. "I will admit, I have kissed some asses, and oh wait! I lied. I remember this one time in seventh grade when I did indeed suck an ass. It tasted horrible. It was like a combination of-"

"Are you going to shut up, or are you going to make me make you shut up?"

"No matter how tempting that sounds, I think I'll just stick with shutting up myself."

"Then do it." She looked back down at his shoulder and grimaced. Just to see what would happen, she poked the inflamed skin around the base of the arrow. A strangled sound came out of the back of Travis's throat and Katie removed her hand immediately. She looked down at her hand and frowned once again. "Gods, look at this blood. It's everywhere."

Travis's pained expression turned into one of amusement. He smiled slightly and said, "Ha. 'It's everywhere.' " He chuckled slightly and winced. "That's what she said."

She stared at him in shock. "Really? You're, like, _dying _and you choose this as the perfect moment for a 'That's what she said' joke?"

"Obviously." This time it was his turn to roll his eyes. "It's like you don't even know me, Katie."

"Just shut up so I can fix this," she said.

"As you wish, milady." Travis smiled slightly and watched her through the corner of his eye as she poked nervously at the arrow, making him wince each time.

After about three minutes or so of Katie having absolutely no progress, Travis asked, "How's it going?"

She hesitated slightly. "Fine."

"Really? Cuz it still hurts. A lot."

"Well what the hell am I even supposed to do with this? There's nothing I can do!"

"I have an idea," Travis mumbled.

"What?" she asked.

"You could pull it out."

"Eww! I am so not touching that arrow. You pull it out!"

He chuckled slightly before wincing once more. "That's what-"

"If you even finish that sentence, Stoll," Katie warned, "I will punch you in the throat."

"You wouldn't punch an injured person."

She squinted her eyes at him. "Try me."

He shrugged as much as he could while lying on the ground. "That's what she said," he whispered, pronouncing each syllable as clearly as he could.

Katie let out an angry sigh through her nose. "You suck ass."

"It was just one time, Katie, I swear." She rolled her eyes and looked back down at the arrow. "But where's that punch?"

She glared back up at him. "Do you _want _me to punch you?"

"Well you _did_ promise me a punch."

She couldn't actually punch him. No, no, no. That would just be terrible, even for him. She continued to glare at him. "I'm not going to punch you," she mumbled, almost inaudible.

"Wait, what was that?" Travis asked.

"I said I'm not going to punch you," she repeated a bit louder.

"Is that so? Well then, you are now officially declared a promise-breaker in my book."

No matter the circumstances, Travis always seemed able to make her laugh. "A promise-breaker?"

"Yes, you dirty promise-breaker. You break promises."

"But-"

"No! I'm not talking to you anymore!"

"Travis-"

"Nope!" She rolled her eyes at him and looked back again at the wound. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "You still have to pull it out, you know?"

"No, I'm not touching that thing." Katie shook her head furiously.

"You have to!"

"I don't have to do shit!"

"Pull it out!"

"No! As soon as I pull it out, you're gonna bleed everywhere and then you're gonna die in my arms."

"Tonight," Travis finished with a smile.

"You may have great song choice, but your timing is absolutely terrible."

"It must have been some kind of kiss."

"Really? You're just gonna keep singing?"

"I should have walked away."

"Wow. You're serious right now, huh?"

"I should have walked away!"

"Are you done now?"

"Yes, yes I am. Did I make it to Hollywood?"

She shook her head. "I'm not even answering that."

"Cuz I was so ridiculously amazing you're speechless right now?"

Rolling her eyes, Katie answered, "Sure. Whatever."

"Yes! I wanna thank my mom, and my dad, even. Sure, why not? I mean, who else would give me these awesome vocals? And I wanna thank Conner, and I'll even thank you Katie, for being my inspiration."

She continued to shake her head and stare at the wound. "I'm not even going to say anything."

"Well then, you're being another promise-breaker because you just promised that you wouldn't say anything, but then you went and said something."

"But-"

"Promise-breaker!" Travis watched as she rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that evening. He winced as she poked the inflamed skin around the arrow once again. "So, you gonna pull it out?"

She glared at him. "I think you already know the answer."

"But you have to, Katie."

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to. It's a free country."

Now it was his turn to be annoyed. "Have you ever gotten a splinter or a thorn or something stuck in your thumb before?"

She hesitated. "Yeah."

"You know how it hurts like hell when it's in there?" She nodded. "And then while you're pulling it out, it hurts even more?" She nodded again. "But then like five minutes after it's out, it's all better?" She nodded with her head hanging down. "Then pull the freaking arrow out!"

"I don't want to pull the freaking arrow out!"

"Do it!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

Katie hesitated and stared down at her lap. "I . . . I don't want to hurt you," she whispered quietly.

Travis brought over his good hand and gripped hers, making her look back up at him. "Please, Katie," he begged. "For me."

She had seen many different looks in Travis's eyes before. Humor, mischief, sadness, anger, but never once has Katie ever seen such a pleading look in his eyes. Travis was so independent and proud, she'd never once seen him beg for anything. She was so shocked, she was speechless.

Silently, she nodded her head and gripped his hand harder. With her other hand, she grabbed onto the arrow tightly.

"One," Travis counted down.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," she whispered, almost to herself.

"Two."

"I'm really, really, really sorry."

"Three!"

You could have heard Travis's scream from a mile away.

* * *

Katie paced outside of the Royal Plaza Suite. She tried to drag Travis over to some normal, random room or even just a couch out in the front room, but he insisted that if he was going to die - which Katie tried to reassure him he wouldn't - he wanted to die somewhere classy, and just the Plaza hotel by itself wasn't classy enough. Oh no. He had to die in _the _Royal Suite.

"Who ya pacin' for?" came a voice to her left, making her gasp.

"Gods, Mel, you scared me." There stood Melani in her pink bedazzled body armor. One hand was on her hip and the other was twirling a lock of hair. "Love the armor."

"Really? Silena made some for the whole cabin. I'm sure afterwards she can make you some too."

"Naw, it's really okay."

Melani waited in silence and watched as her friend continued to pace. "You never did answer me."

She stopped her strides. "What?"

"You never did tell me who's behind that door that's got you oh so frazzled."

"Oh." She blushed slightly and started treading yet again, never once looking her in the eyes. "You know."

Melani smiled. "No, actually, I don't know . . . That's why I asked."

"Oh . . . you know . . . It's just . . . Tr-"

"Travis Stoll!" Melani shouted loudly.

Katie was shocked and stopped her pacing once more. "How did you-"

"I knew!"

"But you just said-"

"I know! I just wanted to hear you say it!"

"But I didn't-"

"I know! I was just too excited!"

Katie was flabbergasted. "You . . . you knew?"

Melani guffawed. "Trust me, girl, everyone knows."

"Everyone?"

"_Everyone._"

"But . . . how?"

"Well when you're dragging his limp body through the doors of the hotel, screaming for a doctor, people assume things."

"Like what?"

"Well I heard that Travis was like totally dead, just lying on the side of the road, when you found him and you kissed him and he woke up."

"_What?_"

"Mmhm. And then I also heard that he found this pet donkey and then you were stuck up in this tower, guarded by some scary dragon, and then he came and rescued you and you fell in love. But the thing is that during the day, you're some beautiful demigod, but at night, you turn into this hideous, ugly monster, but he still loves you no matter what."

"That's just the plot of Shrek!"

Melani giggled. "I know. I totally just made that up. But I seriously did hear you were about to die somehow, or something and then Travis came and totally saved your life. Then you kissed and fell in love and had sex on top of a dead Laistrygonian giant."

"Well, part of that's true," she mumbled.

She gasped loudly. "You guys had sex on top of a dead Laistrygonian giant!"

"No! He saved my life."

"He did?" Katie nodded her head hesitantly. "Oh my gods! That's the most adorable thing I've ever even heard of!"

"Why? I thought only anything Percy and Annabeth did was adorable?"

She sighed. "They _used _to be adorable, but now they're just getting boring."

"Boring?"

"Yes, boring. I mean, if Percy doesn't ask her out soon, I may just ask her out myself."

"I could totally see you two together."

"Right? We'd be way too cute."

"Definitely."

"Anyways, since they're now like so last week, I'm focusing on the cutest couple in camp: Tratie."

"Tratie?" she asked hesitantly. It just sounded terrible. She should've known.

"Yes. Tratie! Travis and Katie!"

"Excuse me?"

Melani rolled her eyes. "Shut up! Like you so aren't excited I made you a couple name, Miss Yeah-I-Think-I-Might-Possibly-Have-A-Teeny-Tiny-Little-Crush-On-Travis-Stoll."

"_Shut up!_" Katie shouted as loudly as she dared.

"Oh, chill, my dear. The only people on this entire level are you, me, lover boy, and his doctor. Who is his doctor anyways?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Smithy, I think."

"Smithy?" Melani smiled.

"Oh no! You are so not hooking up during a _war_. Plus, doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

"Uh, doesn't a certain Stoll have a girlfriend, too?"

"So?"

"So having a little crush doesn't matter."

"How many times do I have to tell you to shut up?"

"_Chill._ They can't even hear, but I'm sure if they could Travis would be absolutely _thrilled _to hear that you have a thing for him seeing as he's so madly in love with you."

"He is so not madly in love with me."

Melani guffawed. "He so is madly in love with you."

"Is not."

"Is to! If I were out there, about to die, he wouldn't have saved my life."

"Yeah he would have."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"He's a nice guy. He would have saved you."

"Well I sure as hell wouldn't have."

"Yeah. That's because you're a terrible person."

"It's true." Katie rolled her eyes. "Well I'm just gonna say 'I told you so' when it's finally the day that Travis goes up to you and says, 'Katie, I love you so damn much! I always have! Hey look! A rainbow! Do me on it!' "

Smithy cleared his throat behind them, making them both turn around, faces bright red.

"How is he?" Katie bombarded him.

"Oh he just has a-"

"Hi, Smithy," Melani interrupted, wiggling her fingers and batting her eyelashes.

"Hey, Melani," he replied dreamily.

Katie groaned. "Move," she said, pushing him out of the doorway so she could get in.

Travis lay on a giant bed in the corner with a bandage wrapping his left shoulder. He seemed slightly hazy when he looked over at her.

She walked over hesitantly. "Hey. How's it going?" she asked.

"Pretty good. There was an arrow in my arm a little while ago."

"That's not very good."

"No. No it's not."

"I like your new bandage though. It's ginormous."

Travis smiled. "You did that one on purpose."

"Maybe a little." She smiled and blushed slightly when he started laughing.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, just staring about the room. "Why did you do it?" Katie asked, breaking the quiet.

"Do what?"

"Why did you jump in front of that arrow? Why were you even over by me? I thought you were supposed to be on the Brooklyn Bridge." He shrugged without looking at her. "You saved my life, Travis. Why?"

"I didn't exactly save your life. The aiming was terrible and there was slight chance that if you hadn't bled to death, you only would've been paralyzed from the neck down."

"Oh, only paralyzed. It's perfectly fine then." Katie rolled her eyes at his wording. "_Why_ did you do it, Travis?"

He shrugged once again before saying, "I couldn't just stand there and watch you get shot with an arrow."

"Yes, but you could've yelled at me to run or-or-or something," she stuttered. "You didn't have to block the arrow's path just so it wouldn't hit me. You almost died because of me."

"And I would've been perfectly fine with that," Travis said simply.

"What! Other than Hades, that donkey or whatever Eeyore, and weird emo kids, nobody's perfectly fine with _dying! _Are you Hades, Eeyore, or Nico, Travis? Are you?"

"I called Nico emo once and then Percy yelled at me and I pissed my pants a little bit."

"This is no time for piss pants. What do you mean that you'd be fine?"

"I would've been perfectly fine with dying because," he took a deep breath, "I would know that I died for a good reason. I died protecting you and keeping you alive."

Katie shook her head, tears coming to her eyes. He couldn't be serious, could he? "But I'm not-"

"Don't you dare say that you aren't worth saving," Travis demanded, cutting her off midsentence. "I would've been perfectly fine dying if you were the last thing I saw."

A tear escaped and fell down her cheek. He must've been joking. He must've been!

But maybe Melani was right. Maybe he really was 'madly in love with her,' as she had put it.

"I would've been fine dying because if I had let you die, I wouldn't have been able to stay alive anyways. I don't think I'd be able to live without you, Katie."

Deep in his eyes, Katie could see that same pleading passion from before, but ten times stronger. The tears were flowing fast, no matter how hard she tried to stop them.

"Well maybe," she started, regretting the words as she said them. "Maybe you should talk to me first before you go and save my life again."

Travis looked confused. "Wh-"

"Cuz maybe," Katie interrupted. "Maybe I just wouldn't be able to live without you either."

He smiled widely and turned his head, trying to hide his excitement. After a few seconds he looked at her again and said, "Well then, I'll just have to try and warn you next time."

"Thank you. I'd appreciate that."

And maybe, just maybe, she might have possibly been a little teeny tiny bit in love with him too.

* * *

So compared to the last one, this author's note is gonna be really short. I'm so very sorry that this has taken a while, but guess what? L is all ready and typed up and amazing, so I'll just wait until Wednesday, probably until I post it. The only way to make it earlier is if I get like a butt ton of reviews, my friends. A butt ton.

Thanks so much to the lovely Chesty's Superbest Friend for betaing and what not. Love ya my dear! She just totally told me that Travis could have killed himself. You aren't supposed to pull an arrow out, actually. You're just supposed to push it all the way through. Woah. So, just like usual, Travis was wrong, and Katie was right! Also, big thanks to everyone (DaughterOfPoseidon11, 29, Aphrodite100, and ZoeNightshade2214) who helped me with the info needed to make this chapter. I kinda sorta fit it in there. After writing it I realized I might now have even needed it. Ha ha! If you helped out and I didn't say your name, I'm so sorry! Just tell me and I'll put it up.

Oh! And I have a question! Am I the only one that pictures Chiron with a British accent? Ha ha! I don't know why, but whenever I write/read Chiron talking, he always has a British accent.

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter K. "That **k**ooky, **k**iller, **k**leptomaniac **K**aren," said **K**ody, the **k**lingy, **k**inky **k**ilt-**k**eeper, "is a crappy **k**isser. And **k**now this! She **k**ept going on and on about how CapN'Cupcake doesn't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, (I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight, Shrek, or anything else she may have mentioned."

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	12. L is for Lines

50 Pick Up Lines Travis Stoll _Really _Shouldn't Have Used on Katie Gardner

1) "Pardon me, but I seem to have lost my phone number. Do you think I could borrow yours?"

2) "You know how scientists say the skin is the largest organ on the human body?" "Yeah." "Well, not in my case."

3) "Did it hurt?" "Did what hurt?" "When you fell from heaven."

4) "Are you running out of breath?" "I'm sorry?" "From running through my head all night."

5) "Did the sun just come up or did you smile at me?"

6) "Your lips just look so lonely. Would they like to meet mine?"

7) "Katie, do you work at Subway?" "No . . ." "Really? Cuz you just gave me a five dollar foot long."

8) "My name's Doug. That's 'god' spelled backward with a little bit of you wrapped up in it." "Your name's Travis." "_Sigh. _You totally just ruined that."

9) "Do you have your tickets yet?" "To what?" *Flexes arm muscle* "The gun show!"

10) "Um, Katie, I'm doing a poll around camp to see how many females have pierced nipples."

11) "If your right leg's Thanksgiving and your left leg's Christmas, I wanna visit you in between holidays."

12) "Are you a parking ticket? Cuz you've got fine written all over you."

13) "If you were a booger, I'd pick you first."

14) "Do you have a Band-Aid? I just scraped my knee falling for you."

15) "I know what you should be for Halloween." "What?" "A light switch. Every time I see you, you turn me on."

16) "Is that cannon fire? Oh wait! It's just my heart pounding!"

17) "Of course there's lots of fish in the sea, but you're the only one I'd love to catch and mount back at my place."

18)"Eros called. He says to tell you that he needs my heart back."

19) "Do you know how aardvarks make love?" "No . . ." "Yeah, neither do I. But I know how humans make love. I think we need a demonstration."

20) "Excuse me, I just noticed you noticing me and I just wanted to give you notice that I noticed you too."

21) "If Princess Peach looked like you, I would have killed Bowser years ago."

22) "Is your name Gillette? Cuz you're the best a man can get." "My name's Katie. You've known me for, like, five years now, Travis." "I know. It's just . . . _sigh_. Never mind."

23) "If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I would be walking through my garden forever."

24) "Ya certainly put the shiver in me timber." "Excuse me?" "Nice poop deck on ya, lassie. Care fer a swabbin'?" "What!" "Is there an 'X' on the seat of your pants? Because it appears that there's wond'rous booty buried underneath!" "Since when the Hades did you become a pirate?" "_Sigh. _Conner said chicks dig pirates." "I'm more of a ninja kind of girl."

25) "The name's Stoll. Travis Stoll. And I like my milkshake shaken," *flips hair* "not stirred."

26) "My love for you is like a level 68 blood elf hunter, with season _6 _gladiator helmet."

27) "Do you come here often?"

28) "Do you have a map? I just keep getting lost in your eyes."

29) "I have only three months to live."

30) "Did you know, Katie, that 90% of all rape begins with the touch of a shoulder?" *Touches Katie's shoulder*

31) "If you were a tear in my eye, I wouldn't cry. Not only because of my masculinity, but in fear of losing you." (She blushed at this one! Score!)

32) "Wouldn't we look cute on a wedding cake together?"

33) "Your eyes are like the cube off Transformers that turns all the Transformers to life, cuz when I look in your eyes, they make me feel alive."

34) "Did you just fart?" "It was that spider over there, I swear!" "Cuz you blow- _What!_"

35) "Hey, the Lucky Charms dude was right! There was a treasure at the end of the rainbow!"

36) "I have an owie on my lip." "I'm sorry." "Wanna kiss it and make it better?"

37) "Are you a magic mushroom because you're making me grow?"

38) *Places hand on Katie's thigh* "Are you nervous?"

39) "May I?" "May you what?" "Take a picture. I need Santa to know exactly what I want for Christmas."

40) "Well here I am! What were your other two wishes?"

41) "I wish you were a door so I could bang you all day long."

42) "If I was a stampeding wildebeest running through the Savannah, you would be my watering hole."

43) *Holds out hand out to Katie* "I'd like my breath back from when you took it away."

44) "Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?"

45) "Do you have a boyfriend?" "No . . ." "Do you want one?" "I don't know. Maybe." "Well, when you want a _man_friend, come and give me a call."

46) "That's a nice set of legs you've got there, Katie." "Um . . . thanks?" "No prob. When do they open?"

47) "I'd rather ride you than Yoshi any day."

48) "Kiss me if I'm wrong but is your name . . . Sarah?" _Slap! _"That wasn't a kiss, Katie!"

49) "I may look like an Ewok, but I'm all Wookie where it counts." "I'm sorry?" "You've been looking for love in Alderaan places!" "What?" "You've never seen Star Wars, have you?" "No . . ." "Oh, Katie. What are we going to do with you?"

and . . .

50) "Rejection can lead to emotional stress for both parties involved, and emotional stress can lead to physical complications such as headaches, ulcers, cancerous tumors, and even _death_. So for my health and yours, just say yes."

How did he still end up getting her? The world may never know.

* * *

So? Do you love me or do you love me? This is a whole two days early, my friends. Two days! Yeah. So which number is your favorite? I think mine is either 29, cuz it's hilarious, or 38 cuz we seriously do that at my school. Ha ha! Oh! And I can't help but love 44 from personal experience (yes, Chesty. You know what I'm talking about.)

So a big ol' thanks to the oh so wonderful Chesty's Suberbest Friend for betaing this chapter, even if you did so like last year! Ha ha! And a ginormous thank you to all of my amazing readers out there! You are too freaking awesome.

So, I made a Tratie-ish one-shot songfic, if you wanna go check it out. Just saying. And, if you're a fan of the whole gay incest thing, there's Conner/Travis too if wanna look at it like that. Ha ha!

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter L. "**L**arry, you **l**oser!" **l**ectured **L**ydia, the **l**acy **l**apdancer from **L**iberia. "You're such a **l**oathesome, **l**adylike, **l**ifeless, **l**onely **l**ittle **l**iar! CapN'Cupcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, IDEK 8, or any of the above pick-up **l**ines. She pretty much took them all from the internet. You've got to **l**ove the internet!" She **l**aughed as he **l**imped away **l**azily.

**L**ather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	13. M is for Marshmallows

Travis wasn't really one for sing-alongs. Except for the cast of Glee, who was really _for _sing-alongs? So it wasn't very surprising when he decided to completely ignore the jackass Apollo campers that were leading the chorus of "Drive, Drive, Drive Your Chariot" to stare at that new Demeter girl.

Damn, was she hot! She had that long, brown hair that curled at the ends like most of the kids from Cabin 4. Her shorts were riding higher and higher up her thighs as she swayed and laughed and sang. She had cut the sleeves off of her Camp Half-Blood shirt due to the summer heat, and drew flowers around the letters. There was even a small smiley face drawn on the picture of Thalia's tree. This was the sixth time she had pulled her bra strap up her shoulder, and the first time Travis had ever seen a girl's bra strap of someone who wasn't directly related to him.

He was so distracted by her smile, all white and smiley, that he almost didn't notice her getting up and walking in his direction.

Holy crap. Holy crap, holy _crap_!

She was coming over here. _She _was coming over _here._

Travis quickly looked away, trying hard to make it seem as if he wasn't just staring at her. He had to bite his tongue just to make sure he didn't squeal with joy when she walked up right next to him and smiled that white and smiley smile of hers.

"Hey," she said shyly. Her voice was like a combination of Fergie and Jesus. It wasn't all high pitched and annoying like the Aphrodite girls or weird and manly like the Hephaestus girls. It was as smooth and seductive as caramel. Travis loved caramel.

He grinned goofily, waving slightly. She laughed. "Do you have any extra marshmallows we could have?" she asked innocently, pointing behind her where she was sitting moments ago with her siblings. "We kinda ran out."

"Oh!" Travis exclaimed. "Uh, yeah. Y-Yeah. Yeah!" He handed her the big bag of marshmallows he and Conner (more like just Conner. Travis was much too busy to pay attention to roasting marshmallows) were sharing earlier with a large grin on his face.

Before reaching her hand, Conner intercepted it. "Travis? What the hell?"

"What?" he asked irritably.

"These are my marshmallows."

"They're _our _marshmallows."

"You haven't eaten a single one! You've just been staring at _her _the entire time!" Conner said, pointing to the girl in front of them and glaring at his brother.

"I-I have not!" he shouted, going between glowering at Conner and shooting apologetic glances at the girl.

Conner rolled his eyes dramatically. "Sure you haven't," he mumbled.

"I can get marshmallows from somewhere else," the girl said, backing up a bit.

"No!" Travis exclaimed looking back to her. He smiled. "You're getting these marshmallows." He turned back to his brother and said through gritted teeth, "She's getting these marshmallows."

The two glared at each other for a least a minute. At first it was just to glare, but it quickly turned into a staring contest. Who would blink first?

Conner's eyes had turned red and were burning with tears. The girl seemed slightly uncomfortable, glancing back at her siblings occasionally, wanting this to end. Finally, Conner blinked.

"Ha!" Travis guffawed standing up from his seat and pointing down at his defeated brother.

Conner stood up to match his height. "This so isn't fair! The smoke was in my eyes!"

"_Sure._"

Conner stuttered as if he was at a loss for words. "Fine then! I'm going to go share marshmallows with Cody!"

"You do that!" Travis shouted as he stomped away. He turned back to the girl with a smile and a bag full of marshmallows. "Here ya go."

She seemed confused, uncomfortable, and slightly creeped out. She grinned anyways and grabbed the bag. "Thanks," she muttered before walking back to her group.

Travis sighed and sat back down as he stared after her. Man, she was something, that . . . that . . . girl. He seriously needed to learn her name.

Conner would've known her name. Conner knew all of the new campers, especially the hot ones. But he would understand.

It was indeed chicks before dicks as he loved to say.

* * *

Travis leaned on a tree, sheet laying in his arm as he watched the campfire rise into the air from behind the rows of campers watching Luke tell a ghost story up front. 'What?' you're probably thinking. 'He's not watching that new girl?' No, actually he wasn't. He wasn't exactly sure where she was at the moment. But oh, he was thinking about her all right. The fire seemed to make little curls at the end, just like her hair, and the smoke looked as if it morphed into pictures of little flowers.

Suddenly, a tap on his shoulder made him jump and turn around. Standing in front of him was the girl, now wearing a jacket and a pair of striped knee-high socks. She smiled that white and smiley smile. "Hey. Sorry I scared you."

"Oh, y-you didn't scare me."

"So you always jump like that?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, all the time."

She laughed slightly and shook her head. "What are you doing here?" she questioned.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I _was _looking for the bathroom, but now, for the last five minutes or so, I've just been walking aimlessly, seeing as I have absolutely no idea where the bathroom is."

Travis smirked and pointed over near the cabins area. "You just take a left right after the Demeter cabin."

She stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"Completely."

"I walked past that thing, like, five times! I thought it was a tool shed or something."

Travis raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it a bit big for a tool shed?"

"Shut up!" she shouted, hitting him on the shoulder. _Oh my gods! _She touched him! Travis laughed and shook his head, trying to hide his excitement. "You never answered me though."

"What?" he asked.

"What are _you _doing out here?"

"Oh." He smiled and blushed slightly. "I really shouldn't tell you."

"Come on. It can't be more embarrassing than not being able to find the bathroom when it's right next to your own cabin."

"Well, it's not embarrassing, exactly." She stared at him, waiting. Her dark brown eyes dug deep into his _soul!_ . . . Ha! Just kidding. They were just so damn beautiful that he couldn't resist telling her. "Well you know how Luke-"

"The hot one?" she asked, interrupting his explanation.

He raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Anyways, he's out there telling a ghost story right about now and every year my brother, Conner, and I have to go out there and pretend to be ghosts to scare the bejeebers out of the new campers."

She chuckled. "Bejeebers. Such a funny word."

"It truly is."

They stood in silence for a few seconds before they heard a giant _"BOO!" _coming from the amphitheater.

"Is that your brother?" she asked.

"Yes, yes it is."

"Does that mean you should be out there too?"

Travis bit his lip in concentration. "Probably, yes. But, you see, I was supposed to be paying attention, waiting for Luke's cue, but I missed it." He shrugged. "Too late now." She laughed slightly and shook her head.

"Won't your brother be mad?"

"Yeah. Yeah, he'll be pissed. But he's already pissed about the whole marshmallow thing, so whatever." She laughed again. "I never did get your name," he said shyly, breaking the awkward silence that had engulfed them.

"Katie. Katie Gardner."

"Travis Stoll." She smiled and they stood there in the quiet once more, hearing the laughs and conversations of the campers behind them. "You should probably get going to, you know, relieve your bladder."

"Yeah, probably. I've heard it's dangerous to hold it in."

"Your bladder could explode. Pieces of Katie Gardner would be everywhere."

"Well then, I better get to the bathroom."

"You should indeed."

She smiled before turning around and walking away towards the bathrooms.

Before she got too far away, Travis asked, "Hey, Katie?" Katie turned back around to look at him. "You know how you said Luke was hot and sexy?"

"I don't exactly remember the sexy part."

"Yeah, me neither. It just sounded cooler if I added it."

She laughed once more before saying, "Yeah?"

"Well I've heard that the hotness gene kinda runs in the Hermes family." He leaned up against the tree, flipped his hair, crossed his arms, and tried to look as sexy as possible.

Katie launched into a fit of giggles. "Sure," she spat out sarcastically, rolling her eyes and walking away.

Travis watched her leave and sighed.

Nailed it!

* * *

This AN will most likely suck, just warning you now. I'm in a terrible mood and just . . . ugh.

So anyways, there's the chapter. Thanks to Chesty's Superbest Friend. Love ya! Thanks to everyone for getting me to 200 reviews! percabeth777 was indeed the 200th reviewer. She gets . . . a bar of soap! Woot woot! Yeah!

Thanks to everyone! You're the best! Hope you like the chapter! And this is the 13th chapter so this is now a whole half way done.

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter M. The **m**an **m**anager of the **m**agenta **m**agazine corporation loves to **m**al **m**ilk **m**en at the **m**all that **m**utter how CapN'Cupcake doesn't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Glee, **m**arshmallows, or anything else she **m**ay have **m**entioned.

Lather, rinse, review! Review sure would **m**ake this crappy day just a bit better . . .

:) Jordan


	14. N is for Names

"Hell no am I naming a son of mine Travis Jr."

"Why not?"

"Because that's the stupidest name ever!"

"What? You said you thought my name was sexy."

"Well, yeah. On _you._ But if we named our son that . . . I think not."

"But you know what Travis means?"

"What?"

"It means like travel and crossroads and stuff. You like to travel, right?"

"Sometimes."

"And people named Travis are usually known for being good, passionate lovers in bed."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. But I think you already know that, Katie."

"No Travis Jr."

"Fine. Fine. Travis wouldn't work in my alphabetical naming plan anyways."

"Alphabetical naming plan?"

"Yes. Alphabetical naming plan. It's where each of my kids' names start with their own letter of the alphabet."

"Well then you need to find some other whore to have twenty-one more kids with you."

"No! We don't need to have twenty-six kids. They just need to go in order."

"What do you mean 'in order'?"

"I mean, we already have A with Mary so now we just need B, C, and D. The first one that pops out will have a name starting with B, the next one with C, and the last with D. Get it?"

"Got it. But what are we going to actually name them?"

"See, I thought of that too, just in case the Travis Jr. thing didn't work. So I Googled."

"I have to agree to them first, though."

"Obviously. So the first one. B. Are you ready for this?"

"I think."

"Barack."

"As in . . . "

"Obama. Isn't it amazing?"

" . . . "

"Don't just stare. Say something."

"How about no?"

"Come on! Why not?"

"Maybe because it's one of the stupidest names ever? I'm not naming our child after the president."

"I don't understand you sometimes."

"Diddo, my friend. Diddo."

"Well the only other names I can think of are Bartholomew and Brennon so-"

"Wait! What did you say?"

"Bartholomew?"

"No. The other one."

"Brennon?"

"Yeah. Brennon. I like it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, he can be like, 'Yo. Hey Brendon. My name's cooler cuz it doesn't have a d. What? What?' You know?"

"Yeah. Strangely I do."

"So Brennon it is."

"Brennon it is."

"What about C?"

"Well, you won't like my first choice."

"Why not?"

"Cain. Like-"

"McCain."

"Yeah! I thought that him and Barack could like battle it out every night before dinner, or something."

"Never. Even if there's a fire."

"I know. So what about Clifford?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want a son of mine being named after a big red dog!"

"Why not? Clifford it way too legit. Ten times better than Blue's Clues."

"Then it's a good thing we're naming him Brennon, not Blue. Next name."

"Fine. What about Clyde?"

"Definitely not."

"Why not?"

"Because Clyde reminds me of Bonnie and Clyde and that Clyde was a murderer."

"So you think that our son would also be a murderer?"

"No! It's just . . . We're not naming him Clyde!"

"What about Carlton? Or, wait! Is Carlton some scary murderer too?"

"No. Carlton's just a nerd from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air who can't dance. My son needs to know how to dance."

"You're ridiculous!"

"I'm ridiculous? You're the one who wants to name his kids after presidents and murderers!"

"Ugh! Maybe you should just name them, then!"

"Maybe I should!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

"You still have to stick to the alphabetical naming plan, you know?"

"That ruins everything then, Travis!"

"Well you're the one who wanted to name them!"

"Well maybe you should name them again!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

"Carlos."

"Since when are we Mexican?"

"Chico."

"Isn't that a college?"

"Crispin."

"Oh, I read that book before. Not the best."

"Carlisle."

"Do you want him to be mocked his entire life for being Edward Cullen's adoptive father?"

"Chevy."

"Chevy?"

"Yes, there is a car dealership named Chevy, but I was really thinking more like Chevy Chase. Cosmo."

"No, no, no. Go back. Chevy?"

"Yeah. Chevy."

"_Chevy?_"

"_Chevy._"

"I like it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's different. Unique. Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself."

"So Chevy it is?"

"Chevy it is."

"Alright. Now for D."

"Yay."

"What about Digby?"

"Never."

"Why not?"

"You're really asking me this?"

"Never mind. What about Dale?"

"No."

"But it's from Step Brothers!"

"I know it is, but so is Brennon."

"Oh yeah. So?"

"So having two of our sons named after characters in Step Brothers just yells 'obsessed!' "

"But we are obsessed with that movie."

"I know. But naming them Dale and Brennon seems seriously obsessed."

"No. 'Seriously obsessed' is when you name them Knight Hawk and Dragon."

"We aren't naming him Dale."

"Then what about Dragon?"

"No!"

_Sigh. _"Then what about Dolph?"

"Dolph?"

"Yeah. Dolph."

"Like Randolph?"

"Oh. I was thinking more Rudolph, but sure. Randolph works."

"Next."

"Dario."

"Dario?"

"Yeah. Dario. It's like Mario but with a D. Isn't it too legit?"

"I guess . . . "

"Think about it. What about Donahue?"

"Never."

"Dreng?"

"Is that Aisan?"

"Norwegian, actually."

"Dario it is!"

"Are you sure? Cuz Dreng sounds really awesome."

"I'd rather name my son Barack."

"_Gasp! _Really!"

_Thump. Thump._

"Oh, don't smack your head against the table like that. I don't think it's very good for the babies."

* * *

Sorry this took so long to post up! I'm on vacation, chillin at my cousin's house and I almost completely forgot about this. Good thing for the amazing Chesty's Superbest Friend for sending it back to me and making me post it up! Love ya my dear!

So, in case you're a bit confused, yes. Travis and Katie are having triplets. Yeah. So, now they're a family of 6 with Mary, Brennon, Chevy, and Dario. You'll hear more about them in later chapters, I promise.

**Disclaimer**: This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter N. "**N**obody's **n**ose knows **n**ow!" **n**agged the **n**anny **n**amed **N**ataly as she **n**avigated through **N**igeria on a **n**arwhal while eating **n**oodles. "Cap**N**'Cupcake does **n**ot own Percy Jackson and the Olmpians, Step Brothers, Barack Obama, John McCain, or anything else she mentioned! **N**ow what!"

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	15. O is for Oats

So, I really hate putting these things up here, but I thought I should just tell you two things. 1! Oats, I guess, is like another word for cereal. Astoria Goode told me. So thank her for pretty much getting me out of my writer's block. And 2! This is back when Katie absolutely hated the Stoll brothers. It goes M, then E, then this, then K, then F, then everything else! So, I guess Travis like, loves her and everyone knows, but he acts like he hates her. Read on, my friends! Enjoy!

* * *

Travis walked into the dining pavilion in his flannel pajamas and black t-shirt that he had worn to bed the previous night. Rubbing his eyes, he yawned loudly. He and his brother had taken Annabeth's laptop, logged on to Craigslist, and put up an ad for a pony named Chiron who was hirable for birthday parties and other group functions. Chiron had busted them, giving each KP duty for a week. Travis was up first, having to clean dishes and help out the tree nymphs with breakfast. Chiron had warned him the day before to wake up early. Apparently he wasn't allowed to eat on the job, so he had to eat before.

Travis really wasn't expecting to see anyone in the dining pavilion at 5:30 in the morning so when he saw a tired-looking dark shape sitting at the end of the Demeter cabin's table he was quite shocked. He was even more shocked when he stepped a bit closer and noticed that it was his least/secretly favorite Demeter child of them all. Katie Gardner.

After getting a bowl of cereal, he considered going and sitting with her. Yes, it technically was against the rules but this is Travis we're talking about. He likes to think of rules as good suggestions that he just doesn't take. Plus, there was no better time to bug the crap out of her. They were all alone, just the two of them. Well, except for Mr. D who sat at the front off the room, cursing loudly at his GameBoy.

Smiling to himself, he walked over in front of her. He stood there, waiting for her to stare up at him. She was quite busy with her own bowl of cereal and didn't even notice him. To help her out, Travis cleared his throat loudly. Katie stared up at him incredulously. The look on her face portrayed disgust as she watched him set down his food and take the seat right in front of her.

"Hey," he said with a smile. She continued to stare at him for quite some time before rolling her eyes and shoving another bite of cereal into her mouth. "How's it going?" he asked. Katie continued to stare at him, chewing the food slowly, almost menacingly. "Well I'm good. Thanks for asking. Did you sleep well?" Stare. Stare. Chew. Chew. "I did. I had a really good dream. Wanna hear about it?" More staring. More chewing. "Well it was about me and Kim Kardashian. You know who she is, right? Well, obviously. You just hang out with Melani all day. She's like her idol, isn't she?" Katie had swallowed now but she still didn't speak, staring at him with dark eyes filled with no emotion. "Well it was just the two of us. After she declared her love for me, we eloped in Vegas and then she let me touch her butt on top of a rainbow. It was awesome." Again, silence. "Did you have a dream last night?"

She looked at him skeptically between squinted eyes. "You really wanna hear about my dream last night?" she asked, talking for the first time since he had gotten there. Travis nodded his head enthusiastically. Katie smiled. It was a strange smile, almost vicious. It gave Travis the chills. "I dreamt of you, actually." He couldn't really the smirk that appeared on his lips. "The two of us, me and you, we were sitting on a beach, staring out at the ocean with the sun rising in the background. It was awfully romantic."

"Are you serious?" he questioned disbelievingly but still with a giant grin on his face.

She nodded her head and leaned forward a bit. Travis immediately followed suit. Their faces were only a few inches away but he couldn't really notice seeing as he was so distracted by her eyes. "I could feel the sand between my toes and I could smell the salty scent of the ocean mixed with the smell of sun block in the air." Her voice was slow and seductive, and her eyes were big and vulnerable. "I was so distracted by the beautiful sight of the dolphins jumping out of the water in the distance that I almost didn't notice you grabbing my hand." She brought her hand up from her lap and grabbed his that was lying lazily next to his cereal bowl, intertwining their fingers together. Travis swallowed. "I _was_ able to notice you pushing the hair behind my ear, though," she said as she brought her other hand up and brushed his bangs to the side with her fingertips. Katie didn't remove her hand, but instead moved it down to caress his cheek, moving a finger across his bottom lip and another under his chin. "And you were so distracted by my big, brown eyes and red, luscious lips," she whispered, her mouth mere centimeters from his, "that you didn't notice it when I pulled a giant chainsaw from behind my back and cut your head off."

She smiled viciously once more before leaning back in her seat and removing her hands from Travis. He stared at her as if she had just taken off all of her clothes and did the Macarena. "What!" he sputtered loudly with eyes the size of saucers as he gazed in astonishment.

"Did you not hear me?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "You were just so distracted-"

"No, I heard you!" he interrupted. "It's just . . . You seriously dreamt that? That was seriously your whole dream?"

"Oh my gods!" she exclaimed, sitting up straight and hitting herself on the forehead. "How could I forget the best part? So after I cut off your head, it kinda just rolled on to the ground. And you could, like, see the esophagus and some vertebrae hanging out of the disembodied neck. And even though your body wasn't attached to your brain any more, your arms and legs were still squirming around and like, your hands were splashing in the pool of blood that had gathered around you just like some little kid would do with a puddle of rain." Travis continued to stare at her, his mouth open in amazement. "Oh! And then after like a minute of me just laughing at your decapitated body, a seagull flew over us and it pooped on your forehead." Katie laughed to herself. "It's so humorous."

After watching her swirl her cereal around for about a minute, Travis asked, "You're completely serious right now? You literally had that dream?"

"Most definitely," she said, he mouth full of Cocoa Krispies. As he stared off in thought, Katie couldn't help but grin at how gullible he was. Her dream from the previous night was far better than killing off a Stoll. She was stuck in this bare, white room when all of a sudden a gay, sparkly warlock with multi-colored hair appeared in front of her wearing nothing but assless chaps. He stared at her with cat-like eyes and as he leaned forward to whisper sweet nothings into her ear, it was almost like he was purring . . .

A small chuckle that escaped the boy in front of her brought Katie out of her dreamland. She glared at him accusingly. "Why are you laughing?" she asked. Her voice almost sounded defensive.

"Oh, nothing," he said casually with a smile on his face.

"What is it?" she demanded.

Travis turned to her with a big smirk on his mouth. "You dreamt of me."

Katie was caught off guard. "Of killing you!"

"But before that unfortunate chainsaw incident, we were about to have wild monkey sex."

"We were so not about to have wild monkey sex! We were about to kiss, that's it!"

"So you admit it!" Travis exclaimed pointing a finger at her.

She glared at him, her eyes full of anger. "Ugh!" she shouted as she stood up abruptly. "You're tacky and I hate you!" After grabbing her bowl of cereal, Katie stomped off to the other end of the Demeter table.

Travis slid down to the other end after her, guiding his breakfast along as well. She glowered at him so more while shoving bites of cereal into her mouth. "You can't _hate _me, Katie. I'm far too irresistible."

She snorted. "Yeah, right," she mumbled with her mouth full.

"Fine. You can _think _you hate me, but deep down, we all know that secretly, you wanna do me right here, right now on this table." She rolled her eyes and continued on with her breakfast. "But I don't blame you. It's hard not to love these six pack abs," he said, pointing down to his stomach, "or this head full of luscious locks of hair that Eros is even jealous of." Running a hand through his hair, Travis winked at Katie, almost making her spit out the food in her mouth.

"You're pathetic." Standing up and grabbing her bowl, she walked back over to the other side of the table, where she was sitting originally. When Travis slid up across from her, she banged her spoon down fiercely. "Can't you understand that I want to be _alone?_" she asked angrily.

Travis nodded. "Yeah. I understood that completely. But this is so much more fun." She let out a loud groan of annoyance as he smirked widely. "Is that the noise you would've made if you didn't cut my head off?"

Katie glared at him before taking the spoon out of her cereal and throwing it at his head. He ducked below the table just in time. "Woah, there. No need to start throwing things now, Katie."

"There's always a need to throw things," she said through gritted teeth as she grabbed some napkins out of the dispenser on the table and threw those at the poor boy as well.

"Ow. That really hurts," he droned, sarcasm dripping off his words.

Sticking her tongue out, she lunged her hand into Travis's bowl of cereal, grabbing a handful of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Before he could even think to yell at her, she flung the food out of her hand and onto his face. Katie smirked and grabbed a napkin to wipe her hand on.

"Really?" he asked incredulously, pointing down to his bowl. "I was going to eat that but now I can't cuz your nasty hands infested it. Thank you."

Shrugging, she leaned over and grabbed his spoon seeing as hers was on the ground. "Whoops," she mumbled before taking another bite.

Travis stared at her for a few minutes before taking his bowl of cereal and splashing the excess milk on to Katie's face. He shrugged and smiled innocently. "Whoops."

She gaped at him, mouth wide open in amazement. "You didn't."

Leaning across the table, he whispered, "I just did."

Without even thinking about it, she grabbed up her own bowl and poured it on Travis's head.

The next thing they knew, they were throwing whatever the hell they could at each other. Let it be food, dishes, salt shakers, ketchup bottles.

Right when Katie was about to throw a knife at Travis's head (it was a butter knife, at least), a strong, calloused hand grabbed her wrist. Her eyes followed the hand down its arm where it connected to the body of a very angry Chiron sitting in his wheelchair. She smiled innocently, and he shook his head.

Let's just say Travis had some help with the dishes that morning.

* * *

So, first things first. Sorry this took so dang long. But I was fighting a dragon and I lost all of my hair and I had to grow it all back from scratch. My bad! But seriously, thanks to Astoria Goode for finally giving me an idea, Chesty's Suberbest Friend for always being kick asinine and the shizz, and some very persistent anonymous reviewer who complained and complained and finally got me off my lazy bum and started writing. I thank you, my dear anonymous and all you reviewers who have been waiting fo'eva for this chapter better thank you too.

Ooooh! And I have prizes to hand out if you can find stuff! There's indeed a quote (my favorite quote, actually!) from School of Rock in here. If you find it, you get a flip flop. Yep. Just one. The left one, to be exact. There's also some mysterious gay warlock that Katie had a naughty dream about (can you blame her?). If you know who this sexy beast is, you get a flip flop as well. It's also a left one. :) And the 'Eros sex god hair' thing is actually from Astoria Goode's fic. It's so awesome, I quoted it without even meaning to!

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter O. "**O**rphans!" **o**rdered **O**lga, the **o**bese, **o**val-shaped **o**perator **o**f the **o**range **o**rangutan **o**ffice **o**f **O**klahoma. "CapN'Cupcake **o**bviously does not **o**wn Percy Jackson and the **O**lympians, School **o**f Rock, any gay warlocks, Cocoa Krispies, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Craigslist, **o**r anything else she mentioned!" **O**uch.

Lather, rinse, review! (I did it this time! I remebered!)

:) Jordan

UPDATE: I don't really know what's FF is currently on cuz it's being and rutard. It says that I have this chapter up and then I've gotten all the reviews, but then it says that the chapter isn't up and I'm back to 250 reviews. I don't really know! I'm really sorry about all of this and I hope it's fixed soon!


	16. P is for Pregnant

As usual, you know I hate putting these up here, but I just wanted to say that you should go read my other Tratie fic 'He Promised' before reading this or the first part might not make all that much sense to you. You don't _have _to read it cuz I'm sure you could figure it out, but it might help a lil bit! Enjoy!

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" Travis shouted as he stepped through the front door, slamming it behind him with his foot.

"_We're _home," Mary corrected, glaring up at her father in accusation.

"I'm sorry. _We're _home." She nodded her head, smiled, and ran off into her room, dragging her backpack along behind her.

"Hey," Katie said, coming around the corner to greet Travis with a small peck on the lips. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Am I in trouble?" he asked, his eyes wide.

She smiled. "No."

"Oh, good." He followed her into the kitchen. She sat down at the table and motioned for him to do the same. "So?"

"So?"

"So what is it we need to talk about?"

Taking a deep breath, Katie said, "I'm pregnant."

As she stared at him, she was expecting some big celebration or a giant grin or maybe even a 'Yippee!' or another type of exclamation of excitement. Instead, all she got was a small, sad smile. "Katie, we can't get too excited about this. Not after the last two times."

"I know. That's why I didn't tell you . . ."

"Tell me what?"

"I didn't tell you until I was sure."

"How are you sure?"

"It's been seven weeks."

"You . . . You waited seven weeks to tell me?" he stuttered disbelievingly.

"I couldn't tell you any earlier," she said defensively. "It's just . . . I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"I know, Katie, but this is important. You're possibly pregnant-" He stopped suddenly and thought over what he just said. "You're possibly pregnant," he whispered, almost to himself.

Katie smiled. "I don't really think we need the possibly part anymore."

"Oh my gods." He grinned widely. "You're pregnant!"

"I'm pregnant!" They laughed and hugged each other. "Don't get too excited, though," she said, pulling back from him slightly.

"Why not?" He looked worried, almost.

"I read on the internet that you have to wait like 20 weeks until you're absolutely sure that you're pregnant and just-"

"Just shut up," Travis muttered before kissing her sweetly on the lips.

* * *

Travis really couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he watched his wife puke into the toilet bowl. She was puking! She was having morning sickness! "This is the happiest moment of my life," he whispered quietly to himself as she emptied her stomach of cereal from that morning.

"This is the worst moment of my life," Katie mumbled, leaning up against the wall parallel to the toilet. Travis slid down next to her and rubbed her back comfortingly. She glared at him and snarled, "Get that fucking smile off of your face."

The corners of his mouth went down almost immediately. "I wasn't smiling."

"Yes you were."

"No I wasn't," he said quickly.

"Yeah huh."

"Nuh uh." They had been spending far too much time with Mary lately.

Katie glared at him and he stared back innocently. That glare was just so cute. Her nose got all scrunched up and her eyes all narrowed. Travis hardly even noticed when he smiled slightly.

Pointing a finger in his face, she exclaimed, "Aha! You're smiling!"

"I am not!"

"Yes you-" Katie didn't get to finish her sentence as she rushed over to the toilet and threw up yet again. Travis stood behind her, holding her hair and stroking her back comfortingly.

All with a smirk on his face.

Katie leaned up against the toilet in exhaustion, her head resting on the edge of the seat. "I hate this. I hate my life."

"I actually believe this is a good, bonding experience."

She glowered up at him through her eyelashes. "That's because you aren't the one puking your guts out!"

"You know there actually is some man in, like, Tanzania or something, that literally puked his guts out? No lie. Like he was just suddenly feeling sick so he went in to the bathroom, puked up his liver and stomach and died about two minutes later." She stared up at him with emotionless eyes. "Never mind."

After a minute of silence, Travis sat down on the ground next to her. "You know what this is?" he asked.

"What?"

"I believe that this is indeed a Kodak moment." He stood up and smiled evilly down at her.

"You wouldn't," she mumbled, shaking her head hesitantly.

"Trust me, I would," he said, leaving the room to go get the camera. Within thirty seconds, he was back, digital camera in hand. He raised it up to his eye. "Say cheese!"

"No! Travis! No-_huuuhl!_"

"Oh my gods! I got an action shot! Amazing," he whispered in amazement as he stared at the picture.

"You get that freaking camera out of here," Katie started, flushing the toilet, wiping her mouth, and staring up at him, "unless you want it shoved so far up your-"

"It's going," Travis interrupted, backing out of the doorway.

"Good," she muttered, staring down at the swirling water.

_Click! Flash!_

"Travis!"

* * *

"Good afternoon. Pleasant Times. This is Travis."

"I'm hungry."

_Sigh _"Then go eat something."

"But we don't have anything to eat."

"We just went shopping, like, last week, Katie. There has to be something for you to eat."

"But there isn't."

"There's absolutely no food in the house?"

"Well, yeah. There's food but none of it is any good."

"What about those yogurt things that we bought you? You said that they looked good. That you'd eat them."

"Well yeah. I tried those. They're really gross."

"We bought those especially for you, Katie. You're supposed to eat them."

"I know. I know! I'm sorry. They looked really good at the time."

"And now?"

"They still look good. But they taste like crap."

"Of course they do."

"But you know what sounds really good right now?"

"What?"

"Chocolate covered lobster."

". . . Ew."

"Don't ' . . . Ew' it! It sounds really, really good."

"No it doesn't. And you hate all seafood!"

"Not right now! It sounds really, _really _good."

"I'm not getting you lobster. You won't eat it and it's far too expensive."

"Please, please, please, please, please,-"

"I'm not giving in."

"-please, please, please, please, please,-"

"Nope. I'm not getting you lobster."

"-please, please, please, please, _pleeeaaase._"

". . . _sigh. _Fine."

"Yay! I love you, you know?"

"I know."

_10 minutes later . . ._

"Good afternoon. Pleasant Times. This is Travis."

"Can you get Cheez-itz too?"

"No."

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

". . . Fine."

"But not the white cheddar kind. I don't like the white cheddar kind."

"I know you don't like the white cheddar kind."

"Don't get the spicy kind either. Those are gross, and Mary says they're too hot."

"I know."

"Just get normal, plain Cheez-itz. I know the reduced fat kind is better for you but they just don't taste the same. It's like they don't have enough salt or something, you know?"

"Yeah. Whatever."

"And don't you dare get the store brand either. Those taste nothing like Cheez-itz. They actually taste like Cheese Nips and oh my gods, if you even _think_about buying Cheese Nips I will punch you in the throat repeatedly."

"Got it. No Cheese Nips."

"Good. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye."

_5__minutes later . . ._

"Good afternoon. Pleas-"

"Scratch my last order! The white cheddar Cheez-itz are sounding really, really good."

"But you hate the white cheddar kind."

"I know I do but I was thinking about it and they suddenly sounded amazing and delicious and I want those."

"Fine."

"But the spicy ones are sounding good too."

"So how about I just get you every kind of Cheez-it there is."

"No, you don't have to do that. Just get the normal, the spicy, and the white cheddar."

_Sigh. _"Fine. So I'm getting the normal, spicy, and white cheddar Cheez-itz, chocolate, and lobster?"

"Eww! No, don't get lobster. That's sounds disgusting. What was I thinking?"

"Who knows?"

"But everything else, go ahead and get."

"Whatever."

_15 minutes later . . ._

"Good afternoon. Pleasant Times. This is Travis."

"You know what sounds really good right now?"

* * *

"Oooooh!" Mary cooed from her car seat. "You said a bad word!"

Rolling his eyes, Travis glanced quickly behind him at his daughter. "I know I did, sweetie," he said looking back at the road, pulling the car over to the side like the voice coming out of the police vehicle behind him instructed. "I'm sorry and don't you ever say that word. Especially not in front of Mommy, kay?" She nodded her head and went back to her toy bunny.

Travis waited for the officer impatiently. He didn't really have time for this. Katie's water had broken just a few minutes prior and he had to get to the hospital _now_. Melani and her had been at their house, watching a movie. Conner was there too, taking a nap probably. That meant that Conner would be driving Katie to the hospital seeing as she obviously couldn't and Melani never got her driver's license. She said it "makes you so totally fat. You just sit there forever, moving your foot up and down. Walking, on the other hand, is much better, much healthier. Fat people drive." Great. So now their kids would be born in a McDonald's parking lot. Just _great._

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the police officer stepped out of their car and walked towards Travis's rolled down window. She was big, buff and tall. Probably taller than Travis. Her blond hair was tied up in a ponytail, and the sun glinted off of her sunglasses. The name on her tag said, 'Bobbie.' Who the hell named a girl Bobbie?

"How's it going, Bobbie?" Travis greeted with a bright smile. She didn't smile back.

"Do you know why I pulled you over, sir?" she asked. Her voice was cold and harsh. She obviously was not loved as a child.

"I don't know. Maybe you were getting complaints from the other drivers because they were oh so distracted by my non-threatening good looks." He shrugged and winked slyly at her.

"You were going 45 miles per hour, sir, on a street where you're only supposed to go 25," Bobbie stated, ignoring his last comment. "And," she said, glancing into the back seat at Mary, "with a child in the car." Looking back into Travis's eyes, she shook her head. "You're a bigger idiot than I thought."

"I'm not an idiot," he corrected. "I'm smarter than you think."

"So you're smart but you just choose to act dumb?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"I'm so smart, I'm practically retarded." Bobbie stared at him as if she were disgusted. He smirked. "And Mary's perfectly fine," he said, referring to her earlier worry. "Aren't you Mary?" They both looked over at her confused face.

"Huh?"

"See?" Travis turned back to the officer, smirk still on his lips. "Perfectly fine. Now, this really has been lovely, but I have things to do, people to meet. So how about you let me off with a warning, I flash you my nipple, and we drive off in our separate ways, hopefully never to meet again. Deal?"

"No deal."

"Look, _officer,_" Travis said. His voice had gone from happy-and-in-a-completely-awesome-mood-cuz-my-wife's-about-to-gvie-birth to holt-shit-my-friend!-My-wife's-about-to-give-birth-and-I'm-still-not-at-the-hospital-and-it's-all-your-fault!-I-really-want-to-punch-you-in-the-throat-right-about-now. "My idiotic brother who's probably hammered drunk is in charge of getting my pregnant wife to the doctor's so she can give birth to our triplets and I need to get to the hospital right about _now!_" he shouted as he seethed angrily.

Bobbie didn't show any emotion (Did she ever?). She brought her hand up to her face and pulled her sunglasses to her nose, showing him her dark, intimidating eyes. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

* * *

Travis rushed into the hospital, Bobbie on his heel and Mary holding his hand. He wished he had a police escort all the time. You could get pretty much anywhere in 5 minutes going 85 miles per hour and having every other car on the road move out of your way, while also being able to run all red lights and stop signs. He didn't even know a minivan could _go_ 85 miles per hour.

After looking around frantically, he finally spotted Conner, Melani, and . . . shit!

"What the hell is he doing here?" Travis asked, running up to them and pointing at Timmy angrily.

"Ooooh! Daddy said another bad word!" Mary yelled.

"Finally you're here! What took you so long?" Melani whined. Even though she was talking to Travis, her eyes stalked Conner as he stood up and approached the lady in the police uniform. He flipped his hair and smiled just like he always did. When she slapped him across the face, Melani couldn't help but smile.

"Sup, Travis," Timmy said, smiling up at the older man.

"I still hate you," whispered Travis, glaring down at him angrily.

"Where's Mommy?" Mary yelled, finally making her father stop glaring at Timmy.

"This isn't over," he whispered before turning back to Mary. "I don't know where Mommy is, sweetie." He thought over her words. "Wait!" he shouted to the rest of the group. "Where _is _Katie?"

"Oh! She's in that room over there," Melani said, pointing to a door a few yards away. When Travis started walking in that direction, Melani stopped him. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

"Why not?"

"She's giving birth," Conner stated, while rubbing the red mark on his cheek warily.

"What?" he exclaimed, turning in circles and debating in his head whether he should rush over to her room or yell at them some more. He chose the latter. "Why aren't any of you in there with her?"

"They said only family and her 'significant other' could go in there with her. Her doctor is hot. Hell no am I pretending to be a lesbo just so I could go in there," Melani said, flipping through the pages of an Us magazine. "Oh, Angelina," she whispered under her breath. "Not another."

"Did you ever think that maybe, I don't know, you could act like her sister?" he shouted angrily.

"Oh," she sighed, glancing up from the magazine to stare at Travis. She shrugged. "Whoops."

"And you," he yelled turning to Conner and pointing an accusing finger in his face. "You have the same last name as her!"

"Yeah, I realized that," Conner said nonchalantly. "But that's just nasty. It's _your _wife, _your _kids, and her . . . you know. I really didn't want to see that."

Before Travis could yell at this brother some more, Timmy cut in. "If it helps any, I volunteered to go in there." He smiled as Travis seethed angrily at him. "They thought I was the kids' father."

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but I'm gonna kick you repeatedly in the balls," Travis said angrily before releasing Mary's hand and stomping away to the door Melani had said Katie was behind. He hesitated before knocking lightly.

An irritated looking nurse opened the door, probably expecting some scary doctor with news of a dead patient. When he saw Travis, he looked even more pissed off. Travis could hear yells and groans of pain behind him. "You have the wrong room," he said angrily before slamming the door in Travis's face.

He knocked once more and waited for him to open the door once again. He looked even more pissed this time. "What?" he shouted angrily.

"Hi," Travis said, a small smile on his face. "How's it going?"

"_What _do you want?" His hand rested on the door knob as if threatening that he _would _close the door again if he had to. Ooh! Chills.

"Is-Is that Katie in there? Katie Stoll?"

"I don't know," he sneered, going to close the door once more. Travis stopped it just in time.

"Look, I think that's my wife in there, and - holy shit!" he yelled, looking over the nurse's shoulder. "That-That-That's the head of one of my kids. And . . . oh my gods. We're never having sex again."

The nurse rolled his eyes before opening the door a bit wider, allowing Travis to step in. The moment he saw Katie on the bed, a smile lit his face. Her hair was wet with perspiration and her faced was flushed. Her knuckles were turning white as she clung on to the bed rails for dear life. The nurse put out a hand, stopping Travis as he tried to rush to her side.

"Ma'am," he interrupted.

"WHAT?" Travis's smile only grew.

The nurse rolled his eyes before saying, "This man claims to be your husband."

After pushing once more as the doctor instructed, she opened her eyes. Travis was expecting her to smile and be ecstatic that he was finally there. But no. Her eyes were full of anger and loathing. "I hate you," she said, shaking her head. "I hate you so much."

Travis was full on beaming at that point. He rushed over to her side and grabbed her hand. Pushing her hair behind her ear, he kissed her forehead. "I love you, too, sweetie," he mumbled as she gripped his hand tighter and gritted her teeth.

_Meanwhile . . ._

"And he's just always such an ass," Melani whined to the police lady whose name she still didn't know. "I mean, sometimes he's like really sweet. Like this one time, oh my gods, I thought I was in love with him. I really did. Guess what he did. Just guess."

"I don't know," she drawled, looking through an old magazine.

"He stalked me for a whole month. It was so romantic." Melani sighed dreamily.

The police lady glanced up. "Stalking is against the law and in no way _romantic_."

Rolling her eyes, Melani told her, "We were just kids, really. We went to the same camp. It was just a harmless act of puppy dog love. Conner's not a freak," she added. "Not really anyways."

"We're talking about this guy right here, right?" she asked, pointing to Conner sitting a few seats away from them.

Melani nodded her head and stared at him. "He's gorgeous, isn't he?"

"Uh . . . sure." She rolled her eyes and glanced back down at her magazine.

"We had a one night stand once. It was amazing."

"Is that so?"

"Mmhm. I thought I was in love after that. But then he made me leave. He said that if Katie or Travis ever found out about us, we'd both be dead but I think they would've been ecstatic." Melani continued staring and twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

"Did you ever think that maybe he said that because he didn't want to be in a relationship with you? Maybe he was just using you?"

Melani's face visibly deflated as she turned to look back at the police lady. "Conner wouldn't do that. I-I don't think so." The police lady continued reading her magazine, unfazed, while Melani sat and contemplated the situation in her head. "Enough about me," she suddenly said. "What about you? What's your name?"

She stared up at her through her eyelashes before saying, "Bobbie."

Melani crinkled her nose. "Is that your birth name?"

"Barbara," she said as if she were disgusted before looking back down at the magazine in her lap.

"Now that's much prettier! I think I'll call you that." She stuck out her hand for Bobbie to shake. "Melani. Melani Amora."

_A few seats away . . ._

Mary sat in the uncomfy chair between Timmy and Uncle Conner awkwardly. They were shouting out random numbers as ladies walked by and the numbers weren't even in order. It was very strange.

"8," Timmy whispered excitedly as another girl walked by. Her skirt was far too short. Mommy would not have like it.

Uncle Conner shook his head. "7."

"What?" he exclaimed. "Did you see that rack?"

"Yeah," Uncle Conner answered. "But did you see her teeth? Check again, young grasshopper." As the lady walked by again, Mary looked at her teeth too. She must've gotten lots of money from the Tooth Fairy. "That'd just be weird making out. And what about the possibility of going further than just sex for once? There is no way you're getting any street cred when you have a girl like that on your arm."

"True," Timmy agreed. "6."

"I agree."

"But you had 7 before," he pointed out.

"Yeah. So?"

"So you can't just go change your mind-"

"Well I did change my mind. I'm your elder. I can do things like this. Now shut up."

They continued counting out of order and eventually, Mary had enough. "I don't get it," she shouted.

"What don't you get?" Uncle Conner asked, glancing down at her with a smile.

"You're not counting right. It goes 1,2,3,4-"

"We're not counting," Timmy interrupted. "We're rating."

"Rating?"

"Yes, rating," Uncle Conner continued. "We look at a girl, and then we say how pretty we think she is with a number. 1 being the least pretty and 10 being the prettiest you could be."

"Oh," Mary said.

"And you, my dear, would be a 200 billion trillion," he stated, tapping her nose and making her giggle. "Now, Mary, do you see any pretty boys out there you want to rate?"

"Eww!" she whined. "Boys have coodies."

Uncle Conner faked hurt. "I don't have coodies, do I?"

She laughed once more and rolled her eyes, just like her mother. "No, silly! You're Uncle Conner!"

"Do I have coodies?" Timmy asked. Mary turned to him and crinkled her nose.

"My daddy says I'm not supposed to talk to you."

After a few more girls passed by, the doors finally burst open and there stood Travis, a big and goofy grin on his face. "It's a boy. And a boy. And a boy."

* * *

Travis and Katie lay in the hospital bed together, both fast asleep. After all three babies were born and cleaned up, the doctor finally allowed visitors. After an hour or so, Bobbie had to go back to work ("Who the hell is she?" Katie asked. Travis shrugged innocently. He would wait for some other time to tell her that he got a speeding ticket with their daughter in the car.) and Timmy had some 'hot date' he had to get ready for. After numerous other guests and visitors - siblings and friends from camp, Katie's dad, some guy neither of them had ever met before - Melani finally took Mary back to her apartment and Conner left with some nurse that got a 500,096 from Timmy earlier in the day.

Finally, Travis and Katie were alone. What did they do? Sleep, of course.

That is until Dario started crying.

"Uggghhh," they groaned in unison.

"You get it," Katie moaned.

"You get it," Travis argued.

"I just gave birth to him. _You _get it."

"But . . . I'm just so tired."

"Again, I just gave _birth _to him."

"Well I went to work today."

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's perfectly fine now cuz having three children in a row come sliding on out of a whole the size of a grape-"

"Oh it was bigger than a grape. I saw it."

"Just shut up so I can finish my rant. Giving birth is not the same as sitting in a chair for 9 hours and answering phones."

"Hey," he said loudly compared to their quiet whispers from before. He opened his eyes for the first time and glared at her. "I also take notes in meetings, thank you very much."

She smiled and stared at him with big, puppy dog eyes. "Pretty please with a cherry on top. And sprinkles. And chocolate sauce. And-"

"I want you on that pretty please."

She sighed. "Fine."

"Hot damn, that's a good deal," he said, standing up from the bed and picking up the crying baby. Right when he handed Dario to Katie so she could feed him, Chevy started crying as well. Travis groaned.

"Just get him, too," she mumbled, busy with Dario.

"Are you going to start crying too, now?" he asked Brennon as he picked up his brother. As if he heard him, Brennon started to cry too. "I was kidding, my friend. Just kidding." He didn't stop. "Gods, couldn't we have stopped after Mary?" he asked Katie as he turned around, both babies in his arms.

"Shut up and get over here."

Travis followed the instructions and handed one baby over and grabbing the other she handed over. They did this for all three boys until none of them were crying anymore.

"Finally," Katie sighed, closing up her shirt. She watched her husband as he put the triplets into their small cribs. She also watched him as he hesitated. "Why'd you just hesitate?"

"I-I-I didn't hesitate."

"Yes you did, and now you're stuttering which means you're lying to me."

"I'm not . . . I don't know which is which," he whispered.

"You mixed them up?"

"No! . . . Well, yeah. Yeah I did."

"Oh my gods! They're your kids! How the hell do you mix them up?"

"They're triplets! How the hell don't you mix them up?"

"They aren't even identical!"

"So?"

Katie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just come here. I know my own kids." He walked back over to the bed and showed her the baby in his hands.

"Who's this?"

"That, my dear friend, is Brennon because Brennon has a birth mark on the side of his neck."

"You sure?" Travis asked, walking over to Brennon's crib and putting him in there.

"Positive." He walked back over with another child in his arms.

"That is . . . Crap."

"Not as easy as it looks, huh?"

"Shut up! Brennon has the birth mark on his neck and I could've sworn he had hair, too."

"I thought Dario had hair."

"Are two of them really bald?"

Travis paused. "I don't know." She looked at him desperately, searching for an answer of what to do next. "You know what we're gonna do?"

"What?"

"I say we just put each of their names in a hat and we draw them out at random. Whoever gets what name is that person for the rest of their lives. They'll never know!" Travis smiled as if he had just saved the world.

Katie stared at him incredulously. "Really?" she asked.

"Do you have a better idea?"

Nodding her head, she said, "Yes, actually I do. I say we just ask a nurse. They can just do a blood test or something." She went to go reach for the buzzer to call a nurse, but Travis snatched it out of her hand just in time. "Hey!"

"We can't call a nurse! They'd think we're crazy and call Child Protective Services on us."

"No they wouldn't." But she didn't seem that confident.

"Are you willing to risk it?"

She sighed. "Fine. We won't call the nurse. But we have to figure out who's who."

"We will. Probably." He took the baby out of her arms and stared at him. "Does Dario have blue eyes?"

"I thought all babies were born with blue eyes?"

"I don't know! I'm just trying to find a difference."

Katie sighed and rolled her eyes, pulling the baby back into her arms. "Do normal babies have eyelashes?"

"I don't know. Did Mary have eyelashes?"

"_I don't know._"

They sighed in unison.

"I'll go get the hat."

* * *

Now, I really wanted to post this sooner, but a sudden family emergency came up and I had to go out of town for a few days. But it's finally here and I think the lengt of it makes up for the small wait! Thanks to the always wonderful Chesty's Superbest Friend who's always there for me no matter what!

Also, I changed Travis's job. I just didn't want him working at the DMV anymore. He must've just blown up randomly at Denise and he no longer works there. Now he works at an imaginary temp agency called 'Pleasent Times' which is kinda taken from the show 'Dead Like Me' which has a temp agency called 'Happy Times.' Ha ha! I also took that whole "I'm so smart, I'm practically retarded" line from that show too. Mason's just far too cute and idiotic for his own good! I'm sure there's another DLM quote and/or some other type of quote in there that I do not own.

Ooooh! And I need ideas for Q my dears! I have an idea, but I don't know if it'll work out all that well and stuff. Also, you can go ahead and give me ideas for R, too. I'm currently planning on R is for Reunion which is kind of an AU of what would happen if Demeter didn't convince Travis to stay in the second part of D is for Demeter. I have most of it planned out (kinda), but I have absolutely no idea how it's going to end. So, you can help me out with that, or give me completely new ideas for R (Q too!) or both. Or neither, but I would really appreciate if you did at least one. :)

**Disclaimer**: This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter P. "**P**auly!" **P**erry, the **p**lain and **p**eely **p**ool **p**oller of **P**aris **p**anted **p**ointedly. "You know I love**p**atching **P**at's **p**ants while **p**opping some **p**eanuts!" "Yeah!" **p**estered **P**auly who liked **p**otatoes and **p**anties (What a **p**erv!). "Well you know that CapN'Cupcake doesn't own **P**ercy Jackson and the Olympians, Dead Like Me, Step Brothers (I don't know where, but I'm sure I quoted it at least once!), Cheez-itz, or anything else she may have mentioned!"

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	17. Q is for Quiver

The thunder clapping outside was becoming almost relaxing, therapeutic even, to Katie as she studied her floriology notes. Her eyes were closed in thought as she gnawed on the eraser at the end of her pencil. The lightning in the sky lit the room in an almost unearthly way. The storm had been going on for quite a while now. Katie was almost enjoying the _boom, boom, clap! _It helped her concentrate and think.

When a sharp knock on the door of her dorm rang throughout the room, Katie couldn't help but jump, accidentally streaking her pencil across the paper in front of her. "Crap," she mumbled under her breath before standing up from the chair and walking towards the door. She was slightly shocked when she looked through the peep hole and saw her boyfriend standing on the other side of the door. He looked worried and anxious. His eyes stared up at the ceiling nervously, as if he were afraid it might collapse on top of him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she opened up the door slowly. He smiled when he saw her, giving Katie butterflies in her stomach. Even if they'd been going out for a couple of months now, just the sight of that menacing smirk or his tussled hair could make her giggly and senseless.

"Hey," Travis greeted, his smile bright but slightly uneasy. "Can I come in? The hallway, it's kind of . . . dark."

"Um, yeah," she said, opening the door a bit wider for him to come in. As he stepped through the door way, she said, "Sorry 'bout that. The lighting's not usually this crappy but with the storm and all . . . " She trailed off and watched him as he apprehensively took his jacket off and walked around. "What are you doing here, again?" she questioned once more.

"Does a guy really need an excuse to come and see his girlfriend?" he asked, walking up in front of her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He knelt down and kissed her sweetly. As he lifted his head back up and opened his eyes, she stared at him, eyebrows raised in question. "Maybe," he said, "I was just jonesing for some tonsil hockey. Or maybe I wanted to . . . cuddle."

"First off," Katie started, a disgusted look on her face, "don't call it tonsil hockey. Makes you sound like a creeper. Second, we've never _cuddled_."

"Well maybe we can fix that tonight. Now, I have a big tonsil hockey tournament coming up, and I need to practice." He went down for another kiss, but she dodged it just in time.

"What did I just say?" she asked, her brown eyes glaring at him angrily.

"Not to say tonsil hockey."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Exactly. And what did you just do _yet again_?"

"Called it tonsil hockey."

"Really, Travis?" she exclaimed. "You just say it to piss me off, don't you?"

He nodded his head. "Yep." He went in for another kiss, but she pushed him away yet again.

"What if I said that I like when you called it that, that it turns me on? Would you still keep saying it then?" she asked.

"Oh most definitely! A hot and bothered you makes a hot and bothered _me_." Travis smirked at the glare she was sending him. "Now this really has been lovely, but can we please go back to the whole reason I came over here in the first place?" He bent down to capture her lips on his once more, but she twisted away just in time.

"You didn't come here just to make out with me." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Maybe I did; maybe I didn't."

Katie continued to watch him, eyes squinted in concentration. "You're acting . . . suspicious."

"Suspicious?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. Suspicious. You know, jittery, nervous, antsy-" Travis cut her off with a kiss. He made a whimpering sound in the back of his throat as she pushed him away. "Don't think you'll distract me that easily, my friend."

"It was worth a try," he said with a smirk. Without warning, Katie gasped and backed away from him. "What is it?" he asked, looking around with wide eyes.

"What did you do?" she exclaimed. "What did you steal? Oh my gods! Did you rob a bank? If you murdered someone, Travis, I swear to the gods I will beat your ass!"

He grabbed the sides of her face and forced her to look at him. "_What _are you talking about?"

Katie pushed his hands away. "I heard cop cars earlier!" she shouted. She started pacing the room, mumbling to herself. "Shit, shit, shit. I'm gonna have to be his Bonnie. He is my Clyde."

"I didn't steal anything," Travis said but she didn't hear him. She just kept pacing and muttering.

"Oh, my dad's gonna be so pissed."

"I haven't murdered anyone."

"We're gonna have to get rid of the body somewhere. That empty field near WalMart. That could work. Perfect place to hide a dead body."

"Katie!" he shouted loudly.

"_What_!" she yelled, turning around to face him on her heel. "If you haven't noticed, I'm planning our get-away here!"

"I haven't murdered anyone!"

The look of anger, sadness, and stress was automatically replaced with confusion and guilt. "You haven't?"

Luckily, he laughed at her disheveled state. "No. And I didn't rob a bank either. I haven't stolen anything today, actually. I'm a whole three days sober. Aren't you proud of me?"

She ignored his question, but asked one of her own. "If you didn't steal anything, then why are you acting so suspicious?"

"I'm not acting suspicious. I just wanted to come over and see you. Is there a problem with that?" he questioned, bringing her back into his arms.

"I guess not," she muttered against his lips, initiating the kiss this time. Katie grabbed his hand to lead him to her room. "You can watch TV while I finish studying real quick, 'kay?" she asked, opening up the door.

Travis opened up his mouth to complain, but was cut off as the lights of the dorm flickered off momentarily, leaving them in complete darkness for three whole seconds. He let out a small scream as the lights turned themselves back on.

"What?" she asked anxiously. "Are you all right?"

He took a deep breath, plastered a fake smile on to his face, and nodded his head. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded once more. "I'm fine. It just . . . surprised me."

She continued to stare at him skeptically before hesitantly nodding her head. "All right," she said, grabbing his hand once more and pulling him into her room.

Katie walked over to the TV and turned it on, handing Travis the remote. "Here. You can watch whatever you want. I just have two more chapters and then-" She was cut off with a groan. "What?" she asked irritably.

"Why do you have to _study?_" He made a disgusted face. "Just the word makes me want to puke."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Well that's too bad. I have a test tomorrow and I-" He groaned once more. "_What?_"

"Tests are even worse than studying. I don't know how you go to college." Turning to the TV, he flipped through the channels aimlessly.

"I go to college so then I don't end up with a job at Taco Bell for the rest of my life."

"Hey!" he shouted. "I just got upgraded to a Taco Bell Pizza Hut combination house, thank you very much."

"Oooh. Fancy." Rolling her eyes, Katie went back to her studying.

"But seriously," he said, absently watching the small sponge on the TV screen dance around. "I don't know how you make it through college, or how you made it through high school. I barely made it through fourth grade." Travis chuckled. "I _didn't _make it through fourth grade."

"Wait," she exclaimed in shock, turning around in her chair to face him yet again. "Are you saying you never went to high school? Or junior high?"

"Nope."

She stared at him in shock. "And you didn't even make it through fourth grade?"

"Nope. As soon as I hit ten, Conner and I booked it out of Utah faster than you can say . . . a word. After we got to New York and to Camp, we never went back to school again." He nodded his head and smiled as if he was proud of the fact. Knowing him, he probably was.

"So you've never had a locker? Or carried your books from class to class? Or been to Prom? Or ditched?"

"Oh I ditched class. All the time."

"In fourth grade?" Katie asked incredulously.

"And third. And second. First, even."

"But it's elementary school!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "They don't even let you go to the bathroom by yourself!"

"Yeah but after recess when everyone would leave to go to their classes, Conner and I would just hide and as soon as no one else was there we'd just go and chill on the jungle gym."

"And you never got caught?" she asked.

"One time," Travis said. "But it was just by the janitor so it was cool. He gave us Coke and candy."

"Isn't that a little weird? Especially from the janitor. Janitors are always such creepers."

"Well yeah, but we were 8. We thought anyone with candy was cooler than Pokemon." She laughed and shook her head. "We were only _slightly _worried about our ass virginity."

Katie opened her mouth to reply, but was stopped when the lights flickered off and a loud gasp escaped Travis's lips. Seconds later, the lights turned themselves back on and all was well. Kind of.

Travis sat on the bed with his head in his lap, breathing heavily.

"Travis," Katie whispered hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

He lifted his head and looked around the room. Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned to her and said, "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Cuz-"

"I'm fine," he interrupted. "It's just . . . It gets me every time."

She gazed at him curiously. "Right," she said, nodding her head slightly and turning back around to her work. She chewed on her pencil in thought, but not about her notes. About her boyfriend.

What was up with him? He'd been so skittish and jumpy, especially when the lights went out. He _screamed _the first time. That's not normal. Not for Travis, at least. And then out in the hallway, he was complaining about how . . . dark it was. And when he came inside, he was looking around the room. That's completely normal except for the fact that he glanced at the ceiling, too. At the lights . . .

"I'll be right back," Katie mumbled, standing up from her chair and walking towards the door.

"Where're you going?" Travis asked, looking up at her from the bed.

"Just . . . to the bathroom. I'll be right back." She smiled at him innocently. As she walked through the door frame, she slid her hand up the wall to the light switch. Quickly and quietly she flicked it down, engulfing the room in darkness. She heard a sharp intake of breath come from her boyfriend and flipped the lights back on. Turning around to face him, she glared angrily. "You're scared of the dark!"

He scoffed and laughed without humor. "Psh! Me? Sc-Scared of the dark? Psh! Psh! . . . Psh!"

"So you're not afraid of the dark?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"Of course not."

"Oh, okay. So you wouldn't mind if I went like this." Swiftly, she turned the lights back off but unlike last time, she didn't turn them back on.

"Katie," Travis said. His voice was tight and frightened.

"Yes?" she asked innocently.

"Turn the lights back on." She could hear his teeth gritted together as he talked.

"Why?"

"Because I said so!" The anxiety in his voice was so bad, Katie almost felt bad for him. Well maybe he shouldn't lie to her.

"I don't really think that's a good enough reason."

"_Katie!_"

"Yes?"

"Turn them on!"

"Why?"

"Because!"

"Because why?"

"Because I'm scared of the dark, all right!"

Katie turned the lights back on and Travis let out a sigh of relief. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, hurt in her voice.

"I couldn't tell you," Travis said, finally getting his breathing under control. "I couldn't tell anyone."

"Why not?"

"The only thing eighteen year old men should be scared are STD's. Not the dark."

"Did you just call yourself a man?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

He rolled his eyes and ignored her comment. "I shouldn't be afraid of the dark. I should be afraid of being rejected, or getting chosen for a quest or - You're laughing at me!" he exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at his girlfriend.

She tried to control the smile widening on her face but failed miserably. Walking over to the bed and sitting next to him, Katie said, "I'm not laughing _at _you, Travis. I'm laughing with you."

He stared at her, his eyes full of anger and embarrassment. "I'm not laughing."

She giggled. "Then you're right. I am laughing at you." He let out a sigh and turned away from her but she caught his face in her hands, making him look at her. "But not in that funny, embarrassing way."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, shaking his head slightly.

She sighed, trying to think of a way to explain. "You . . . You know those YouTube videos of like, cats playing the piano or dogs snowboarding? You know how they're so ridiculously cute that you can't really help but giggle?"

"I don't giggle."

Katie rolled her eyes before continuing. "Okay. You can't help but manly chuckle?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?"

"You're like that!"

Travis's face was etched with utter confusion. "I'm a snowboarding dog?" he questioned, puzzlement visible in his voice.

"No, you idiot. You're so ridiculously cute, I can't help but laugh," she explained as if if was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Wait! So you find this . . . cute?"

"Adorable, actually," Katie said, twirling a curl of his hair around her middle finger. "This is the cutest thing I've ever even seen. You're like a little kid, or-or a puppy or-" She didn't get to finish her sentence when the lights of the room flickered off.

Travis shut his eyes tightly and bit his lip. He felt safer than before in Katie's arms but the dark was still there, surrounding them, suffocating them.

They both expected the lights to come back on within seconds back after a whole minute of darkness, Travis couldn't handle it. "Katie," he whispered urgently.

"Hmm?"

"They aren't turning back on. Why aren't they turning back on?" he asked. He didn't mean for his voice to sound harsh, but with the fear and the slight embarrassment it came out meaner than he meant.

"Chill," she said calmly. "You had to know it would go out eventually." When the lightning from outside momentarily lit the room in an almost ghostly way and Katie caught a glimpse of Travis's wide eyes full of dread and terror, she immediately felt horrible. She should make him feel comfortable and safe. As she went to stand up, his grab on her arms tightened.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice pleading.

"I'm just going to get some flashlights and a few candles. I'll be right back. I promise." She went to leave once more, but his grip was even tighter.

"You can't leave me here by myself." His voice changed into an urgent whisper as he hissed, "_In the dark._"

"I'll be right back," she said before finding his face in the darkness and kissing his lips chastely. "I promise."

He frowned and let go of her arms as she left for the door once more. Travis sat on the bed, his legs pressed up against his chest, breathing deeply. The lightning just made things worse. On one crack of electricity, he could've sworn he saw hairs growing in the corner of the room. On another strike of lightning, Travis believed he heard a scream come from far away. He closed his eyes, wanting it all to go away. But when he opened them back up, it was even worse. A dark shape stood in the door way. It was probably a murderer. Or a monster. Either way, he would die. It would use its giant ax to chop his head off and then eat all of his brains and then-

"I told you I'd come back," Katie said. The light from the flashlight she held below her chin made her face look ghostly and her smile evil. She tossed it over to him on the bed. He caught it before it smacked him in the face and watched as Katie ran the match across the edge of the box, praying that it would light. After engulfing the stick in flames, she smiled slightly and lit the three candles she had placed on her desk. Once she blew the fire out, she turned around to face him. "Better?" she asked.

Travis nodded, a small smile on his own lips. "Much."

"Good," Katie said. "Now I've only got, like, one chapter left and-"

"_Ugh!_" he groaned.

"What?"

"You can't just leave me now with no TV. What am I supposed to do?"

"You can watch me. You said you like watching me do things. It is, and I quote, 'not stalkerish at all.'"

"It's not!" he exclaimed. "But I like watching you do hot things."

"Like?" Katie asked, writing something into a notebook.

"Like dancing, or walking, or talking, or brushing your teeth, and other sexy things as such."

"How is brushing my teeth sexy?" she questioned, turning around in her chair to stare at him.

"Well you're just moving your hand back and forth, and back and forth, and sometimes you go in circles. And with the foam of the toothpaste and the motions of the brush . . . oh! Goodness me." Travis smiled at her innocently.

"You disgust me," she said, turning back to her notes.

"Watching you study is _so boring,_" he complained.

"Well do you want me to go get my toothbrush, make it a little more interesting?"

As she turned back to look at him, he thrust out his lower lip and widen his eyes. Patting the place next to where he lay on the bed, he mumbled a quiet, "Please."

She shook her head. "I'm busy."

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"You know I don't like cherries."

Katie went to go back to her work when a long and whiny, "_Pleeeaaassse,_" stopped her.

Rolling her eyes, she sighed. "Fine."

A small yet audible, "Yes!" came from Travis as he scooted close to the wall, giving her enough room.

After getting under the covers and lying down, she stared at him. "Happy?"

Travis smiled. "Very," he said beforing kissing her nose lightly. She couldn't help but smile after that. Their faces were mere inches away and Katie could feel the heat radiating off of his warm skin. After a few seconds of silence (well, if you count the thunder and pouring rain outside silence), Travis muttered, "So . . ."

"Why are you scared of the dark?" she asked hastily.

"Oh." He was slightly shocked by the sudden question, but nodded his head, ready to answer. "Well, it started, like, a month ago I think. It was in the middle of the night and I woke up and I had to take a piss so badly. Like, 'holy crap! I'm about to pee my pants' badly."

"I hate that," she complained.

"Isn't it just the worst?" Travis agreed. "Anyways, so I left the cabin with my flashlight and a jacket and that was that. But halfway to the bathrooms, it died."

"Your flashlight?"

"What else would die, Katie? Me?"

"I don't know! I was just clarifying the story, that's all!"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just, my flashlight died and I had to go pee so badly, I just decided I'd roll without one. I didn't need it. The bathrooms were only so far away. But then I got to the bathrooms and they were locked. So I went into the woods-"

"You peed in the woods?" she exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. Where else was I supposed to go?" He gave her that duh-you're-being-an-idiot look and she flashed back a don't-you-dare-call-me-an-idiot-again-unless-you-want-me-to-kick-you-repeatedly-in-the-balls look.

"People play capture the flag in there!"

"Yeah. So?"

"You disgust me."

"I think we've already established that, Katie. Now, will you please let me finish my story?" She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in a circle, motioning for him to continue. "So I was in the woods, taking care of my business, when suddenly I hear growls and howls that sounded really, _really _close and I didn't have a sword and my pants were around my ankles and then this bat comes out of nowhere and flys into my face which makes me jump back and then pee is flying everywhere. And then the bat made me land in a rose bush so then thorns were all up on my butt and from there on out, I've hated the dark."

Katie tried so very hard to keep the smile off of her face. Epic fail. "That's terrible," she said between laughs.

"You're laughing at me," he stated.

"No! Remember the whole 'so cute you can't help but laugh' thing?"

"That story can't possibly be cute."

She laughed once more. "You're right. I just thought it'd be mean to straight out say that I was laughing at you."

"You are now."

"I'm a terrible person."

"No, really?" Travis asked sarcastically.

"Why did . . . " She trailed off and yawned, her mouth opening widely. "Why did you really come over here?" she asked, her eyes watery from the yawn.

"Well," he started, pulling Katie over to his side. Her head fit under his chin perfectly as did her arms around his waist. He put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tiny form against him. "The power went out at the apartment and Conner went to some bar to pick up chicks so I was left alone in a dark, scary house, and I thought that coming over here to see you sounded much more fun than staring at a blank wall all night."

He felt her nod her head and yawn once more against his chest. "I agree," she said, her voice tired and worn out. Travis kissed the top of her head as he heard her breathing steady. He lay there and stared at the ceiling for quite some time, just thinking. Suddenly, he clicked off the flashlight in his hand and smiled.

There was no screaming and no Grudge in the corner. There was no monster or murderer ready to kill him.

The dark wasn't scary. Not when Katie was in his arms. With her in his arms, Travis wasn't afraid of anything.

* * *

Sorry this took a while to get up! I've just been busy . . . kind of. But anyways, thanks to the alway persistent anonomyous reviewer who always seems able to get me off my lazy bum to start writing! Another thanks to **HiThereSmiley** for the name, **Saturninely** for the idea, and **Chesty's Suberbest Friend **for also helping with the idea and betaing. Love you all!

One more thanks to all of your reviewers out there for finally getting this story to 300 reviews! I've never had a story get this many reviews before so I am _very _excited! Special congrats to** Fluffy things r cute** for being the 300th reviewer! You get . . . *drumroll* . . . a travel size shampoo! Whooo!

I still need help with R, my dear readers. Right now I'm debating between R is for Rain which will consist of Travis and Katie splashing in puddles with all four children and a few kisses and lame jokes thrown in there too, _or _R is for Reunion which I explained in the last chapter but will explain again, because if I were you, I know I'd be too lazy to go back and check. It's kind of like a what if scenario of what would happen if Travis had left in the second part of D is for Demeter. In a nut shell, they meet again, they kiss but Katie gets all mad cuz she has a boyfriend and then . . . That's what I'm still trying to figure out. I don't want it to be too cheesy or unoriginal so that's why I'm asking you, my glorious fans, to help me (you know, if you choose that one).

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter Q. Quintin quickly quailed and quaked in the queer gaze of the Queen. "Quintin," she quacked with a certain quirkiness in her voice. "CapN'Cupcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Grudge, Coke, YouTube, Bonnie and Clyde, Spongebob, or anything for that matter!"

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	18. R is for Raining and Rhyming

Katie shivered and hugged her arms closer to her body as she stared outside over the border at the pouring rain. She watched as it dropped into the puddles, the water rippling out in rings that kept getting bigger and bigger until they disappeared at the edge. Even though she was inside the protective borders of the camp, she could feel the chill seeping through her skin. She _really _should have brought a jacket. Staring up at the sky, Katie wondered what Zeus was mad about now. The gray clouds gathering above seemed to be growing darker and larger. She guessed Hera and Zeus were currently in marriage counseling. They sure needed it.

"Whatcha doin'?" asked a familiar voice in her ear causing her to jump slightly before looking over to see Travis with a smirk. His usually unruly hair was being controlled with a beanie, and Katie was immediately jealous when she saw the warm sweatshirt he was wearing. "Is that gum you're chewing?"

Katie looked around confusedly. "I'm not chewing any gum."

"I noticed that. Do you like my new hat?" he asked, pointing up to his head.

She nodded hesitantly. "I . . . I guess. Are you all right?"

"Oh I'm fine!" he exclaimed with a smile. "Has anyone ever told you that your smile shines?"

Katie blushed slightly and grinned. "Um, no. But . . . thanks."

"No problem." He paused and gnawed his bottom lip in thought. "My throat is filled of phlegm."

"What's with the . . . " She trailed off and stared at him.

"The rhyming?" Travis asked. "Conner just dared me during rock climbing."

"He dared you to rhyme all day?" He nodded his head proudly. "Are you serious?"

"Like a heart attack! Do you know who's really tall? That guy, Shaq."

"You're ridiculous," she said while rolling her eyes and staring back out across the borders.

"Being ridiculous is my profession," he stated, looking outside as well. "Now, you never did answer my question."

"I'm just sitting here. Watching the rain."

"That's all?" Katie nodded. "But it's not even fall!"

"What does fall have to do with any of this?" she asked.

Travis shrugged. "Why don't you go out there?" Leaning in closer to her, he whispered, "Are you scared of the bears?"

"There's no bears out there, you idiot. It's against the rules to go outside the boundaries without permission."

"Katie, this isn't school. You don't have to follow every rule."

Rolling her eyes, she turned to him once again. "It's not just about the rules. I don't really like rain that much."

He gasped melodramatically and clasped a hand over his heart. "Don't like the rain? Why do you always have to be so vain?"

"How is not liking the rain being vain?" He shrugged innocently and gave her that I-just-needed-a-rhyme look. Rolling her eyes, Katie said, "I don't like the rain because plants do not like the rain. If they get too much, they could drown and die. If the plant's not domesticated, too little rain will make them shrivel up and die. Plus, with the hail and wind and the lightning, plants are doomed. I don't like the rain."

"Well I'm going to change that." He stood abruptly and held out his hand for her. After helping her up, he sadly let go. "Now follow me like a . . . fruit bat."

"I'm so not a fruit bat!" Travis smirked and shrugged once more before heading towards Thalia's Tree. "Woah, what are you doing?" Katie asked, grabbing his arm to stop him.

"We're going out in the rain. Seriously, Katie. Use your brain." His grin became wider as she glared at him angrily. He continued walking towards the borders. "Now follow me like a dog and a . . . bee." Rolling her eyes once more, she trotted after him reluctantly.

Before leaving camp, Travis stopped them. "Do you want my jacket?" he asked, noticing for the first time her lack of layering.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded and started tucking in his arms, readying to pull it over his head. "Don't worry. I've got a . . . tennis racket."

Katie rolled her eyes but smiled as he handed it over to her. "Thanks," she mumbled after tugging it over her head. It was far too big for her and smelled of Travis - dirt, sweat, and too much cologne. She loved it.

He smiled back and nodded his head before walking across the borders. Turning back around, he looked at her with a shrug and a smirk. She watched as the gray of his hat continued to get steadily darker as the rain hit his head. "Don't be such a swine!" he yelled over the storm. "The water's fine!"

Taking a deep breath, Katie lifted the hood over her head and walked the few feet across the border. As the piercing drops of ice cold rain hit her open face, she couldn't help but gasp slightly. She had momentarily forgotten how good they got it at camp. She looked up at Travis's smirking face and shook her head violently. "It's too cold," she whined.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. He reached out his arms and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her towards him. She enjoyed the extra warmth "Come on, come on," he said.

"Saying the same words twice isn't rhyming," she scolded.

Travis smirked down at her. "I know. Just don't tell Conner or I'm a goner." His smile widened as she laughed. "Now seriously, come on. I wanna show you something." Grabbing her hand, he ran down the hill at full speed.

"Travis!" Katie yelled behind him. "Slow down!"

He finally stopped and stared at the sight in front of him. "Beautiful," he whispered under his breath while shaking his head slightly in amazement.

"An abandoned road?" she asked. She pushed her hood back so she could see better and looked around for another sign of life. "Yeah. It's gorgeous."

Travis turned to her with an unbelieving look. "Not just an abandoned road. A bumpy abandoned road with holes and ditches and cracks."

"Oh my," Katie said with a smirk. Travis did not find it funny.

"This is serious, Katie. Look at those puddles! They're gorgeous! Just the right size with the perfect water capacity. Ooooh. They make me feel funny in my pants."

"Are you kidding me? You are going to jump in those puddles?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"_We _are going to jump in those puddles," he corrected.

"What are you, like, 6? I am so not splashing in some puddle!" Katie exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously.

"_Pleeeaaassse_," he whined, sticking out his bottom lip.

"No."

He sighed. "Fine then," he said while starting to walk away slowly. "Then I guess I'll just have to do _this!_"

"Travis!" she yelled loudly after he jumped in a puddle, getting them both wet with excess rain water.

He shrugged innocently. "Whoops," he mumbled before turning back around on his heel and walking slowly away.

She ran up behind him and stomped in a nearby puddle, trying to get him back, but her splash wasn't nearly as big. "What the hell?" she shouted. "Why wasn't mine like yours?"

"Well one reason may just be because your form was all wrong, my dear," he stated, grabbing her by the shoulders and bringing her in front of him. "Or it may just be because I have big feet, and you know what they say about guys with big feet." He winked at her slyly and she nodded her head.

"Big socks," she said with a smile.

Travis laughed and nodded. "That too!"

After a bit of training, Katie was soon an expert puddle splasher thanks to Travis. "Like this?" she asked before jumping into the puddle in front of them and wetting them both.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed. She smiled up at him. "That now means that I can go like this," he started, splashing into a small pool of water and soaking them both, "and you can't be mad at me."

Pushing her wet bangs out of her face, Katie nodded. "You're right. I can't be mad at you. But I can go like _this!_" They continued going back and forth, running up and down the road repeatedly, trying to splash into every puddle they saw.

There, near the very end of the street, sat the mother of all puddles. About 5 feet by 3 feet. Almost 3 inches deep. Absolutely gorgeous.

Just as Travis was about to claim it as his own, Katie ran into him, accidentally knocking him down, creating the biggest splash of the afternoon. But she wasn't worried about his splash. "Oh my gods! Travis, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" she exclaimed worriedly, bending over to look at him more closely.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm fine," he said. He looked fine, really. Just wet. "Help me up," he told her as he extended his hand for her to grab.

As she put out her own hand, he quickly gripped her wrist and pulled her down into the puddle too. He smirked as she let out a small scream and crashed into him.

"You're such an idiot!" Katie yelled, splashing the water around them into his face. After a bit of struggle, Travis finally grabbed hold of her small wrists and held them tight.

"Chill, Katie. I just needed a break and I knew you weren't going to willingly sit in a puddle of rain water with me." She sighed and stopped trying to get her hands back. But as soon as he let go, she quickly splashed him once and put them behind her back. "You take this way too seriously, my friend."

All she did was stick her tongue out at him, making him chuckle.

"Now," Travis started, "since I have been waiting all day, I believe I must say . . . I am being stupid and silly like an elf, and I do not want to make an even bigger fool of myself, so . . . just in case I miss, I would like to ask you if you would enjoy a kiss."

"Wow," Katie said with a small smile. "Three whole rhymes in one ridiculously long sentence that pretty much made no sense. I'm impressed."

"So?" he asked, eyebrows raised in question.

Smirking, she leaned in closer to him, her eyelids fluttering shut. Travis followed suit but just as their lips were about to touch, a wave of water hit him in the face. Opening his eyes, he glared at his girlfriend.

She laughed. "You can't distract me that easily," she said with a wink, standing up in the puddle.

"Have you ever thought, Katie," he started as he stood up too, "that maybe it wasn't just a trick? That I actually wanted to kiss you?"

Shaking her head, she smirked and looked up at him. "Nope."

Rolling his eyes, Travis bent down and captured her lips on his. As they kissed, one of Travis's hands was cupping her cheek while the other was on her waist, pulling her closer. They were oblivious to everything around them as the rain continued to pour and the lightning continued to flash and the thunder continued to boom.

After they separated, Travis stared down at her with a smirk. "Now this really isn't what I was intending," he said. Shrugging and leaning down again to rest his forehead on hers he whispered, "But at least we get a happy ending."

* * *

So sorry this took so dang long to update! I've just been real busy and what not, you know? And, I'm sad to say, tomorrow is indeed my first day of school. I really have no idea how my updating schedule will be while in school so if there's long breaks here or there (I'm really hoping that one of those breaks isn't all that long. Maybe a week. Two?) I'm really_, _really sorry.

Thanks so very much to the always amazing Chesty's Superbest Friend. 'Orange you glad I didn't say banana?' Ha ha! Oooh, nevermind. Another thanks to CherubGurl96 for the idea even though I didn't exactly have the kids in there and all. I believe Chesty's actually gave me the idea of them kissing in the rain. She just keeps getting better and better!

**Disclaimer**: This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter R. "**R**ude!" **r**aged **R**uby, the **r**ed, **r**iled up **r**ule-breaker of the **R**omanian **R**ainforest. "You're **r**ude, **r**atty, and **r**eally, **r**eally **r**ound! For you to **r**ave that CapN'Cupcake doesn't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Shaq, or anything else she may have mentioned is just plain **r**ambunctious!"

Lather, **r**inse, **r**eview!

:) Jordan


	19. S is for Sir

As Travis strolled across the patio of the Big House, he hummed a song tunelessly. He was in an awfully good mood having escaped the evil clutches of the terrible Chiron without any punishment after painting pictures of suns, dead animals, and shirtless men with great abs on the walls of the Artemis cabin when he knew the Hunters were visiting in just a week. After playing innocent and denying that there were any splashes of paint on his pants, Chiron closed his eyes, sighed dramatically, and rubbed his forehead before saying in an exasperated tone, "Just don't do it again," and sending him off with a wave.

Travis smiled and hopped down the stairs. Just as he was on the last step, he noticed a man standing a few feet away.

Travis had never seen this guy before, which was weird considering he was a year-rounder. He seemed too old to be a camper anyways, but even if he was new to camp, Travis was sure he would have heard about him already. The man had light brown hair and bright green eyes. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties and had a hint of gray in the stubble on his chin to show it. His cowboy boots and large hat seemed very out of place in the woodsy environment of Half-Blood Hill.

Travis glanced around nervously before hesitantly walking up to him. "Hey," he said, trying to sound nonchalant, but having one hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist obviously didn't help his calm tone.

The man's eyes widened a bit as they saw the weapon at Travis's side. He cleared his throat and glanced back up at his eyes. "Oh! Uh, hi," he stuttered. As he got closer, Travis noticed that the man looked vaguely familiar. It was like he had seen him once before. . .

"You a camper here?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Me?" the man asked in surprise, pointing to himself. He had a pretty thick country accent and an Adam's apple the size of a quarter. With a nod from Travis, he hastily shook his head. "Oh, no. I'm here picking up my daughter." After a slight pause, he held out his hand. "I'm Daniel. Daniel Gardner. Katie Gardner's father. Do you know her?"

Travis smiled and nodded while shaking Daniel's outstretched hand. "Yeah. Yeah, I've seen her around." Katie's father tipped his hat in welcome. "I'm . . . Trevor Scoll, by the way," Travis lied.

"Trevor Scoll," Daniel mumbled under his breath, rubbing at his small beard. "The name sounds so familiar."

"Well there is another camper here with a similar name. Travis. Travis Stoll. Has Katie ever, I don't know, mentioned him?" he asked slyly with a raised eyebrow.

"Travis, Travis," he muttered, biting his lip in concentration, just like Katie always did. "Aha! Yes. Travis Stoll! Katie talks about that boy like his cheese slid off his cracker."

"Uh . . . yeah," Travis agreed. "Totally. That is most definitely Travis."

Daniel nodded. "She's always goin' on and on 'bout him."

"Like . . . What does she say about him?" Travis asked curiously.

"She's always saying how annoyin' he can be and 'bout the pranks he pulls on her and what not. You know he put chocolate rabbits on top of her cabin's roof once?" he asked with a nod of his head.

"No!" Travis exclaimed with fake disbelief.

"Yes! Ridiculous, that boy. Katie was goin' on about it for weeks, complainin' about that Stoll boy the entire time." Daniel shook his head and looked out at the camp. "Now where is that girl," he mumbled quietly to himself.

"Is there anything else she says about Travis?" he asked, trying to bring Daniel's attention back to the matter at hand.

"Oh she can go on 'bout that boy fer hours. Talkin' 'bout this or that. But I know how she feels 'bout him," he said with a smile and a nod.

"How?"

"She likes him," Daniel whispered, as if afraid the trees around them would hear.

"She what?" Travis exclaimed excitedly, trying to fight the smile quickly appearing on his lips.

"She likes him. My little Kitty Kat has a crush."

"But everyone says she hates him," he said slightly breathless, too excited about the incoming dirt to think of the many mocking possibilities of a nick name like 'my little Kitty Kat.'

"Psh!" Daniel scoffed and waved his hand dismissively. "I've seen this whole thing before. In second grade, she hated this lil boy - what was his name? Aha! Johnny Lune. That was it. She would steal his crayons and he'd pull her pigtails and they'd go back and forth. And then one day I go to pick Katie up from school and guess who she is holdin' hands with? Yep! Mr. Johnny Lune."

"Is that so?" Travis smiled at the thought.

"Oh yes," Daniel said with a nod. "And then there was the time when she was 12 and some boy asked for a kiss under the mistletoe. Katie punched the poor boy in the mouth!" Travis laughed loudly, picturing the image in his head. "And then there was the other time at some dance, oh boy." Just as he was about to go into yet another story, Katie appeared next to them with a scowl on her face.

"You," she said angrily, glaring at Travis as per usual.

"Sup, Katie," he greeted with a smile. "I was just talking to your dad here. He's quite the interesting fellow." The mocking smirk on his mouth alerted her that something was up.

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "Your friend Trevor here is pretty fun himself. I don't know why you haven't told me 'bout him before."

"Trevor?" Katie asked, turning to Travis with raised eyebrows. His smirk only grew. She rolled her eyes before turning to her dad with the sweetest face she could muster. "Daddy, do you think you could take my bags up to the car for me? I still need to say bye to Trevor, and all."

"Of course, darling." He grabbed the handles of her multiple bags before nodding his head at Travis. "Nice to meet ya, Trevor."

"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Gardner," Travis said with a smile and a wave.

"Oh, please. Call me Daniel."

"If you insist." Travis shrugged and looked at Katie mockingly. He hadn't seen her this mad since the whole Easter incident.

As soon as her dad was out of sight, Katie smacked Travis in the shoulder. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked fiercely.

"Well," he started, rubbing at his now bruised shoulder, "I have ADHD. Dyslexia, too. Apparently my left nostril is just slightly larger than the right, and the Apollo kids say that with the amount of junk food I eat they're surprised I haven't had a heart attack yet. Oh! And some people say I talk too much but I've really never thought-"

"Shut up!" Katie exclaimed, stopping him mid-rant. "That's not what I meant."

"Oh," Travis said with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "Then what was it exactly that you meant, my little Kitty Kat?"

Her glare intensified. "I have never wanted to punch you in the mouth so badly before," she told him.

Travis's smirk only grew after she said that to him, immediately thinking of the poor boy under the mistletoe. "I'd actually enjoy that."

"What?" Katie asked, confused.

He just laughed and shook his head. "You have a plane to catch, my dear. You better get going."

She stared at him suspiciously but after a few seconds, she stepped back and whispered, "This isn't over," before stomping down the steps of the Big House porch loudly.

"Katie, wait!" Travis shouted before she could get too far. He leaned over the railing and watched as she turned around to glare at him some more.

"What?" she asked exasperatedly.

"I just . . . I'm gonna miss you." Katie seemed shocked by his sincerity for once and was about to reply when he started to talk once more. "It's going to be a tough year without being able to pick on my little Kitty Kat," he said with a sarcastic smirk.

"Ugh!" Katie yelled angrily before stomping back up the hill, leaving Travis's annoying laughs behind her.

* * *

Yeah. How much do you love me right now?

I know. This isn't exactly the BEST chapter but even I know that it's better than the old S. And guess what the fabulous author known as Cap'NCupcake is going to do for her fabulous little fans? Redo B you say? Why, aren't you smart. I am indeed redoing the second chapter cuz I was looking it over and . . . ew. It's going to change to B is for Bubbles and it's going to be the scene after O is for Oats where Katie and Travis have to wash dishes together. Fun stuff!

A couple of people actually asked me for S is for Sex. . . I'm sorry but I'm not really planning on writing a lemon anytime soon. But if you're seriously jonesing for some Tratie M rated mmmmmmmm goodness, go and check out my new fic Tears which is probably the closest I'll get to a lemon. Like ever. Ha ha!

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter S. "**S**top!" **s**houted **S**am, the **s**uper **s**ilent **S**wiffer **s**weeper **s**alesman as he **s**oundlessly **s**tared at the **s**how '**S**ing **S**tar.' "You know Cap'NCupcake doesn't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or anything else **s**he may have mentioned!"

:) Jordan


	20. T is for Tent

"You're serious?" Katie exclaimed excitedly. "We're actually going camping?" She smiled as wide as the Cheshire Cat and stared at Travis with wide eyes filled with enthusiasm. She hadn't gone camping in years and getting to go up in the woods with all the trees and flowers and plants (oh my!) had her jumping with excitement. And getting to go with Travis would just be the cherry on top of the perfect weekend.

Travis nodded at his girlfriend and copied the smile lighting up her face. "Yep. As soon as I get home from work on Friday we can pack up and head out. We're gonna make a fire and go on a hike and do all those things you do while your camping," he said with a wave of his hand.

"Oh! Travis you're the best!" Katie wrapped her arms tightly around his neck in a hug.

"So I've been told," he replied with a cocky smile. She rolled her eyes and hit him lightly in the chest.

"Now, we have to go to the store. Do you even own a tent? Or your own sleeping bag?" she asked with expectant eyes.

"Well, not exactly."

Katie rolled her eyes before continuing. "So we'll need both of those. Plus at least two flash lights, some graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, those sticky things you use to-"

Travis interrupted her with a kiss on the lips, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Calm down," he said with a smile after he pulled back. "We'll get everything, I promise."

"I know, I know. I'm just . . . I'm excited," she finished with a small grin. Travis laughed and pulled her back against his side as he leaned into the couch and turned the TV back on. "This is going to be the best camping trip ever."

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Katie," Travis said sadly as he walked into their apartment to find her sitting on the couch, crushing the pillow she held in her hands tightly against her chest. The lights of the TV flashed absently across the walls of the darkened room.

"The roads have become extremely slippery thanks to all that rain, so please do be careful if you're planning on driving tonight. In other news . . ." The man on the television screen babbled on and on. Katie had had enough. She picked up the remote and clicked the off button viciously before throwing it next to her on the couch.

"How many times," she started without even glancing up to look at Travis, "have I told you I hate the rain?"

"A lot," he said cautiously and went to sit next to her on the couch.

"Now take all that hatred and quadruple it a million and two times. That is how much I hate the rain right now."

"Oh, come on Katie," Travis said, pulling her against his side and kissing the top of her head. "You can't hate the rain that much."

"Oh yes I do." She turned around so he could see the intensity of her glare. "I hate it almost as much as I hate when people say lol, especially when they didn't actually laugh out loud."

"Wow." Travis nodded his head. "You really do hate it."

"Told you."

"But technically," he began, "it's the lightning and the whole fire hazard thing that's making us not able to go camping." Katie glared at him even angrier than before. "Just saying."

Travis pulled her back against his side and tucked her head under his chin. "You just don't understand, Travis," she muttered. "We were going to go on a hike and look for bears and mountain lions and what not and if we didn't find any we were going to make up some crazy animal to tell all our friends about. And we were gonna have a horseshoe tournament where I was totally gonna kick your ass, and then we were going to sit around the campfire where we would roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories. And then we'd have s'mores and go to sleep under the stars." Katie sighed. "This was going to be the best camping trip ever."

"Hey," Travis said sternly. "Don't be so glum. We could still make this the best weekend ever."

She sat up and turned around to look him in the eyes. "How?"

"Well," he started, "we could have a movie weekend. We'll do nothing but watch movies the whole time."

"I do enjoy movies," she said quietly, leaning back into his side.

"Yeah. We can watch some of everything. From action to drama, from romance to those one movies you love where the blood is so obviously ketchup and the monsters look like they're made out of Popsicle sticks."

"I love those kind."

"Who doesn't?" Travis exclaimed, making Katie laugh a bit. "We can even get RV."

He could feel her flinch against his chest. "No. Even a small family having a crappy time in the woods in a terrible RV with a picture of a man in a witch's hat on the side would make me feel bad."

Travis nodded his head. "Of course. What was I thinking? You just get whatever you want."

She sat up once more. "You wanna come with me?" she asked hesitantly.

"Naw. I have to take a shower. Being a secretary is hard work."

Katie stood from the couch and smiled down at him. "So just get whatever I want?" she asked, pulling on a jacket.

"Yeah. Just make sure you get Gentlemen Broncos. I haven't seen it in a while." She bent down to kiss him before heading for the door. "Ooh!" he shouted after her. "And make sure to get as much junk food as you can!"

"My favorite!" Travis heard her yell back before the sound of the door being slammed shut rang throughout the apartment.

* * *

"Hey!" Katie yelled loudly as she closed the door behind her and began walking around the corner. "I couldn't figure out the candy to popcorn ratio, so I just went two to . . ." She trailed off as she entered the living room to find a giant tent sitting in the middle of the room. On the walls were pictures of trees and mountains that looked like they were drawn by a five-year-old. Next to the tent sat a lamp Katie had bought at JcPennys without the shade so the light bulb glowed brightly throughout the room. Two blankets lay curled up around the lamp on the ground.

" . . . one," Katie finished quietly as she gazed about the room. There was a sudden shake in the tent and Travis's smiling face appeared in the small open doorway.

"Hey," he greeted with a lopsided grin. "How was the store?"

"What the hell did you do?" she asked, ignoring his question completely. She walked into the room and threw the bags on the couch before kneeling in front of Travis.

"I just . . . I promised you we'd go camping this weekend, Katie, and I didn't want to break that promise."

"Travis," she began while shaking her head disbelievingly, "you didn't have to do all this."

"But I wanted to!" he exclaimed. "Come with me," Travis said, holding his hand out to her as he climbed out of the tent.

"Where are we going?" Katie asked, squeezing his hand tighter.

"I just wanna tell you our agenda for the evening, show you around a bit. It's extremely scary getting lost in the woods so _pay attention_."

Katie giggled. "I will. I promise."

"Now," he said, opening the front door and walking down the hall. "First on the list is a hike down the amazing and terrifyingly dangerous Mount Stairwell." As they approached the stairs, he waved his hands dramatically and waved Katie after him. "Be careful," he warned as they got to the first step.

"You too." Travis led her down each stair cautiously when suddenly he let out a terrified gasp. "What is it?" Katie exclaimed worriedly.

"Shhh!" he shushed her before flattening himself out against the railing and motioning for her to do the same. Katie followed nervously, wondering what the hell he could be on about now. She was shocked when their grouchy, old neighbor, Mr. Hensworth, climbed the stairs slowly, his cane dragging behind him. "Crikey!" Travis whispered to her in a terrible Australian accent. "It's the Old Hensworth, the deadliest creature known to man. It looks so innocent, but just one provocation and it'll bite your head off faster than you can say 'I'm sorry, Mr. Hensworth, I thought you liked the hip rock and roll music us kiddos are listening to nowadays.'" Katie couldn't help but laugh. Travis was lucky Mr. Hensworth had absolutely terrible hearing.

After the old man passed, they continued their hike down the stairs until they reached the bottom. They crossed the parking lot until they stood in front of the dumpster.

"What are we doing here?" Katie asked while scrunching her nose up in disgust.

"Shh," he hushed her once again, but less vicious this time. "Just watch."

They continued to stand there for a few more minutes and right before Katie complained once more, she saw what they were waiting for and gasped. A raccoon had climbed on top of the dumpster and had begun to dig at the lid. At the noise, it glanced in their direction and ran off.

"That was disgusting!" she shouted at Travis angrily.

"That was a deer, my friend."

"That was a raccoon, you idiot!"

"Rude! It just has one of those weird diseases where it turns small and gray and stuff. Why ya gotta be so racist, Katie?" Travis asked with a raised eyebrow.

She sighed and put her head in her hand. "Can we just go back home?" she mumbled.

"We haven't even seen a bear yet, though!"

"And by bear you mean . . ."

"A bear, aduh. It just has that one disease where it turns really, really small and white and it's tail grows to like twice it's size," he said with a nod. "But don't make fun cuz it's a serious issue, Katie. Millions of bears suffer from it every year."

Katie stared at him for a few seconds before turning around and heading back for the apartment. Travis rolled his eyes and started running to catch up with her.

Travis opened the door wide for them both to enter the apartment. "So next, we can have our horseshoe tournament, also known as a solitaire tournament seeing as it's apparently 'dangerous' to play horseshoes inside. At least that's what the directions on the box say."

"Oh, I'm so glad you remembered to read the directions this time," Katie said with a smile.

He grinned and nodded his head. "Yeah. So after the tournament where I'm sure you will totally beat my ass, the winner will be awarded this _lovely _maraca I made in less than five minutes out of a paper plate and coffee beans," he explained, holding up the creation that had 'Ur #1' written in blue crayon across it.

"Wow," Katie began, sarcasm dripping from her words. "It's lovely."

"Isn't it?" Travis asked with a smirk. "Anyways, after the game, I thought we could gather around the light bulb where we tell ghost stories and roast marshmallows, and after we realize that we can't actually roast a marshmallow with a light bulb, we can just go and make s'mores in the microwave."

"I really think microwave s'mores are better anyways. Especially when the marshmallow explodes and all," Katie said with a nod.

"Exactly, right? And then after that, we can go and sleep under the stars," Travis told her with a smile.

"If we're sleeping under the stars, why did you put up a tent, oh wise one?" Katie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's where you're wrong, my dear," Travis said as his smile widen. He held out a hand for her to take. "Come on."

She placed her hand in his gingerly and let him lead her to the small tent. After unzipping the opening, he pulled her inside. They sat on the hard ground with their legs crossed.

"So?" Katie asked expectantly.

"Look up," he whispered, pointing towards the ceiling. She followed his directions and gasped in surprise at all of the small, glow-in-the-dark stars that were stuck to the top of the tent. She couldn't help the smile that automatically appeared on her face.

Turning to Travis, she asked, "You did all of this for me?"

"Well," he started, his cheeks turning a slight pink, "we bought the sleeping bags and the tent and I didn't want it to all go to waste and-" He was cut off by Katie's lips on his. She pulled away from the kiss and stared into his eyes. "But yeah. It was mostly for you," he whispered against her lips.

She kissed him once more under the stars and thought that this was indeed the best camping trip ever.

* * *

Wow has it been a long time. I really am sorry about that. Really, really sorry. It's just been real crazy with life and all and then to top it all off my computer was broken so I couldn't write anything and even when I could write stuff, or when I tried, it was all just crappy. But I'm back now. And with something that isn't too terrible. So I hope you aren't pissed at me anymore. I'm also planning on completely redoing the last chapter and by 'completely redoing' I mean completely redoing. Like, it won't even be S is for Stealing anymore. And it will be something completely different and completely better. I can promise you that much. And like right now, while you're reading this, I'm working on the next chapter of Once Upon a Time so hopefully that'll be up soon. Maybe even as soon as tonight? I don't know yet. But we'll see.

I'm also really sorry that I haven't replied back to _anything_ in like forever whether it be a review or a message or just a story that _I _need to review and all that jazz. I really _really _am sorry.

And a special thanks to Chesty's Superbest Friend for betaing this chapter for me and to LunaPadma who gave me the idea!

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter T. **T**he **t**wo-**t**iming, **t**alented, **t**urkey with a **t**wisty **t**ail hates **t**alking **t**o **t**hat **t**iny and **t**acky **t**errifying **t**hing **t**hey call **T**homas, especially about how Cap'NCupcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, RV, or anything else she may have mentioned.

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	21. U is for Unprepared

Sandy Mullens stood outside apartment B14 with her son Brian in her arms and her daughter Stephanie standing beside her who was brushing her Barbie's long blond hair. Sandy lifted one hand to knock loudly on the door. She waited patiently for a few seconds but when no one came, she knocked once more, this time a bit louder.

Sandy heard a loud racket followed by a muffled curse and a "_Be there in a second!_" come from behind the door before it opened wide revealing the disheveled couple of Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner. Katie's dark hair was mussed and her lip gloss seemed to be smeared. Travis looked to be about in the same shape, with messed up hair and lip gloss on his face. He also wasn't wearing a shirt which Katie quickly realized, sending him a glare and quietly swearing at him under her breath, making him roll his eyes before sauntering back into the apartment and out of Sandy's view. Katie took a deep breath before turning her attention back to the three people in front of her with a forced smile. "Ms. Mullens," she said with obviously fake enthusiasm. "Brian. Stephanie. What are you guys doing here?"

Sandy smiled. "How many times do I have to tell you, dear? Call me Sandy." At Katie's apologetic grin and nod, she continued. "I was planning on going out tonight but then my babysitter just called and said she couldn't make it." She tried to continue but was interrupted when Travis came from behind Katie again, a shirt hastily thrown over his head.

"I am so sorry, Ms. Mullens," Travis sympathized before grabbing the door and pushing it closed. "Well, it was nice talking to ya!"

Before it closed them completely out of sight, Sandy stopped it with her foot. With a roll of his eyes, Travis opened the door back up. "Look," Sandy began, "I know you guys are all horny for each other, especially now that you have nature's birth control, but I really need your help."

Before Travis could get all white boy on her, Katie lay a gentle hand on his chest and turned to Sandy. "How do you know about the baby?" she asked quietly, almost inadvertently placing her other hand atop her stomach.

"Oh!" Sandy waved her hand. "You know that Conner. He tells everyone everything. Congrats, by the way, on the engagement. And Travis, nice job on beating that level on Halo." Katie and Travis exchanged a look with wide eyes. "But anyways, I _really _need your guys' help tonight. It's only for a few hours and it's great practice for when your little thing comes popping out. And I'll pay you."

"Look, Ms.-" Travis began.

"We'd love to," Katie interrupted. He stared at her as if she had just grown another head.

"Fantastic!" Sandy squealed before quickly handing Brian over to a befuddled Travis and kissing Stephanie on the top of the head. "Make sure they go to bed at 9! The key's under the mat if you need anything! Love you!" she screamed as she ran down the hall in her heals. Travis silently prayed to his dad that she would trip and fall. She didn't, making him even more mad than he was before.

* * *

"How the hell could you say yes?" Travis exclaimed, nervously glancing over at the kids sitting on their couch, watching an old Spongebob rerun. Stephanie seemed fully absorbed by the talking sponge but the small boy who was only six months old beside her was busy making spit bubbles with his mouth.

"How the hell could you say no?" Katie asked with wide eyes.

"Um, hello? We were about to-" He cut himself off and looked over at the children once more. "Have fun," Travis finished with raised eyebrows as Katie rolled her eyes. "I can't go from _that _to watching smelly kids that quickly."

"You're pathetic."

"I'm a man," he said with a shake of his head.

"Same difference." Travis snorted which Katie took as a sign to continue. "I was just trying to be kind. Ms. Mullens needed to get out a bit and watching Stephanie and Brian isn't that bad of practice for when we have our own. Don't you roll your eyes at me," she scolded. "This thing's gonna come on out in, like, eight months." As he watched her point at her stomach, Travis sighed.

"Exactly. _Eight months_. We have plenty of time to practice!" he exclaimed, making Katie roll her eyes this time. "But as soon as that kid comes popping out, we won't have any time for _fun _anymore."

"Well you're just gonna have to get over it, my friend. Ms. Mullens already left. Suck it up." Travis sighed angrily.

"You're so lucky you're having my baby or I would be ten times more pissed then I am right now," he mumbled.

"Well if you're so damn pissed at me," she started, her hands on her hips and irritation glowing in her eyes, "then you don't even have to watch them. You can go in the bedroom with your lubricant and your tissues and have your 'fun' while I watch Stephanie and Brian."

"First off," Travis said, holding up a finger, "we're all out of lubricant. Second, I'm not just going to leave you alone with them. They'll murder you."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know. But I'm still pissed at you."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Stupid baby hormones." He smirked. "How about we split it up?"

"What do you mean?" Travis asked with raised eyebrows.

"I watch Stephanie. You watch Brian."

"Oh hell no!" he exclaimed. "I call watching the little girl! I ain't changing any diapers or cleaning up spit or doing anything nasty and disgusting like such."

"Well I'm not going to watch him. I'm pregnant," Katie said with a nod.

"So?" Travis shrugged. "You'll have to take care of all that crap as soon as our kid pops out so you might as well get used to it."

"It's your kid too!" she yelled. They glared at each other silently for a few seconds, the laugh of Spongebob filling the room.

"Wanna flip a coin?" Travis muttered.

Katie looked over at him with a sigh. "Heads. Called it." He patted himself down, in search of a coin while Katie rolled her eyes and got one out of her own pocket. After tossing it in the air, she caught it and placed it on the back of her hand. She cursed, causing Travis to snicker.

"Oh, Stephanie!" he shouted in a sing-song voice.

* * *

Katie sighed. "Please, Brian. I'm begging you. Just eat the peas. It's good. I promise." No matter how much she pleaded, the small boy refused to eat. She even tried making the spoon a train which she had promised herself long ago she would never, ever do because of how stupid it made you look. Travis told her to shove it in his face which she actually tried after numerous failed attempts, but Brian just moved his head out of the way and began to cry. Everything she had done all day made him cry. When she played with him, he cried. When she sang to him, he cried. When she tried to put him down for a nap, he cried. When she changed his diaper, not only did he cry, but he also peed on her.

"Nice job, Katie," Travis mocked. "Way to go."

She glared at him angrily. "Like you could do any better, Stoll."

"I could, actually," he said, standing up from his chair to walk over to Katie and Brian. Stephanie sat in her chair, watching the whole thing play out while she nibbled on a dinosaur-shaped chicken nugget. His makeup Stephanie had done specially for him was starting to smudge and his pink boa kept falling off of his shoulders but whenever he tried to get rid of his costume, Stephanie would scream and yell and Travis had had enough screaming and yelling for one day.

Travis knelt down next to Katie's chair so he could look Brian in the eyes. "Now I'm going to tell you this once," Travis said, "and once only. I will put this food in your mouth. You will swallow it. And you will enjoy it. Do I make myself clear?" Brian stared at him absently. Travis nodded. "Good." With a deep breath he grabbed the spoon and put it in Brian's mouth. After putting the spoon down and seeing that the food was staying in, Travis turned to Katie with a triumphant smile and a mocking laugh.

"You suck!" she yelled, making Stephanie snicker.

"I'm actually not really the sucking type-" Travis started, but was cut off when Brian decided that he didn't like smashed peas and spit it on to Travis's face. His smirk fell immediately.

Katie laughed loudly and mockingly pointed a finger at his face while Stephanie giggled hysterically behind them. Travis turned to her with a glare. "Shut up, Gardner!"

"But-" She broke off and laughed some more. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she apologized with a smile and a shake of her head. "You just- You got a little something on your face."

"Oh really?" he asked with raised eyebrows, making Katie smirk a little more and nod. "Well, I think you might have something on yours, too." Her eyebrows wrinkled together in confusion.

Without even thinking about it, Travis dipped his hand into the jar of baby food and scooped out a handful of smashed peas. "Travis, no-" Katie started, but it was too late. He flicked his hand, sending splashes of green goo on to her face and bringing a loud gasp out of her mouth.

She wiped the peas out of her eyes and glared at him angrily. "You did _not _just do that."

He smirked and, with a twinkle in his eye, whispered, "I just did."

Katie gasped and grabbed the jar of baby food from a crying Brian all for herself. Scooping up a handful, she flung it at Travis with all her might, but he was quite busy finding ammunition of his own. He slammed his hand into Stephanie's bowl of mac n' cheese, causing her to squeal and run into the living room, but Travis was far too preoccupied to care about a screaming little girl. He threw the pasta at Katie, declaring an all out food war.

As their supplies nearly ran out, the sound of the front door being slammed shut stopped them both mid-throw. Conner walked in with a smirk on his face, one hand holding the leather jacket slung over his shoulder and the other texting some random girl he probably just got the number of. He glanced up from his phone and saw the sight in front of him, making his smirk grow.

Both Travis and Katie were covered in food, along with the walls, table, and floor. Brian was crying like a maniac in his high chair and Stephanie was nowhere to be seen. The lamp hanging from the ceiling swung from side to side and Conner actually wasn't all that surprised to find a fork sticking of the side of the wall.

"Well Katie," he said, his smirk only growing wider and wider, "I love this new look you're trying on. What is that? Mac n' cheese? Totally hot."

Before she could make an angry retort, Conner turned his gaze to his brother. "And who is this new friend of yours?" he asked with raised eyebrows. Conner winked and bit his bottom lip. "I've never seen anyone look as sexy as you do right now in a tutu and smashed peas. And that is a fact."

"I want to rip out your heart with my wrists," was Travis's only comment.

Conner's smile only grew. "Playin' hard to get, now are we?"

Before Travis literally could rip out his brother's heart with his wrists, a high-pitched "_Conner!_" interrupted him.

"_Stephanie!_" Conner shouted as the girl ran into his arms for a hug.

"You should've come earlier!" she exclaimed. "They were yelling and then they started throwing stuff and it was _crazy_!" Stephanie continued telling him the events of the evening as Conner grabbed Brian out of his high chair. He immediately stopped crying and giggled as Conner poked his stomach. The three walked into the living room as Katie and Travis stared in amazement.

"Are you seeing this right now?" Katie asked, her eyes never leaving the group.

"Yeah," Travis whispered, almost to himself. He turned to stare at Katie with a shocked expression. "Conner's a better parent then we are." He let his sight shift back over to Conner as he nodded his head at Stephanie's story and made silly faces at Brian.

With a sigh, Travis rested his hand on Katie's stomach. "Oh," he muttered. "You are going to be one messed up kid."

* * *

Now, I seriously am ridiculously sorry about taking so long but I've just been REALLY REALLY bust lately with school projects out the whazoo and the Giants in the world series (THEY EFFIN WON!) and my new found obsession with Glee. But I'm here now. And that's good, right? This chapter was actually way longer in my head but I've just been having a tough time writing lately and I just wanted to get something out. I didn't even send this to my beta. I'm so bad.

Also, I know I have like a gajillion trillion things I need to review or reply to and all that jazz, and I promise you I WILL do it tomorrow! Ya hear that Juliet, Natalie, Jo? I will. I was trying to do it during the Giants game but I mean come on! It's the Giants game! I can hardly concentrate on my own name during a Giants game!

This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter U. I am **u**ndoubtedly **u**pset for **you** because of how **u**nfortunately **u**npleasant this **u**namazing disclaimer is right now that is **u**ttering how Cap'NCupcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or anything else I may have mentioned!

:) Jordan


	22. V is for Valentine's Day

"Psssst!" Travis hissed from the open doorway of the Hermes cabin, trying to catch that new Apollo kid's attention. "Psssst!" When finally he turned around to stare in confusion, Travis nodded his head. "Yeah! You! Apollo kid! Come here!" Apollo Kid looked around with shifty eyes before hesitantly walking over to the crazy man clinging to the door frame.

"Yeah?" he asked, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Hey. It's Anthony, right?" Travis questioned with raised eyebrows and a slight nod.

"Andrew," Apollo Kid corrected.

"That's what I said." Travis rolled his eyes. "Anyhoot, I need you to do something for me."

He looked around a bit before speaking. "Why?"

Travis sighed in frustration. "Um, hello? Cabin arrest? Apparently Mr. D doesn't like it when you rearrange the wires on his Pac-Man machine so every time he loses it calls him a dirty hoebag. I can't leave this stupid place!" he said angrily, kicking the side of the door frame. He yelped and fell to the floor to examine his big toe closely. "I got a splinter," he whined, looking as if he were near tears.

Apollo Kid stood around awkwardly, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Can I go now?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"No!" Travis exclaimed, jumping to his feet with frantic eyes. He disappeared from view for a few seconds before coming back with a small card in his hand. It was red and frilly and in the shape of a heart. "I need you to take this and put it on Katie Gardner's bunk for me. Can you do that?"

"What do I get from it?" Apollo Kid asked, making Travis sigh. He was hoping that for once, this kid wouldn't be a jackass like all of his brothers and sisters from Cabin 7. But no. He was just as bad as them. Obviously.

"10 bucks."

"20."

"10."

"20."

"10."

"20."

"15."

Apollo Kid stared at him before shrugging and sticking his hand out for the Valentine. "Deal."

Travis smirked and placed it gently in his palm. "Make sure it doesn't get ruined or I'll cut off you pinky toe off and make my brother eat it." A loud, "Hell no, bitch!" could be heard from behind Travis.

"Who's bunk again?" Apollo Kid asked. Travis sighed and rolled his eyes once more.

"Katie Gardner, Demeter's daughter. Top bunk on the left. There's a bunch of little flowers drawn on the ceiling right above it and a giant heart with 'KG+AL' written in it."

He stared at him in confusion. "But I thought your name was Travis?"

"Yeah." He sighed and shook his head. "Adam Lambert."

Apollo Kid nodded before turning around to head for Cabin 4. "I'll be right back," he said over his shoulder to the crazy man with a blinking ankle bracelet.

* * *

Katie grunted as she lugged her bags after her up the steps of the Demeter cabin. She was hating life at that moment in time. Why did she have to spend her Valentine's Day at some stupid camp full of even stupider campers when she could be home, watching Ugly Betty reruns while texting that super hot new senior who she totally made eye contact with the other day? But no. Her father had to go to some stupid dentist convention, and for some reason she just couldn't understand, he didn't trust her enough to stay home by herself for a week.

Katie sighed and gave her luggage one last tug up the stairs before it finally rolled along beside her. She was hoping to get the cabin to herself at least so she could just relax and maybe read a little bit. But no. The gods just hated her that day. Lounging on her bed and chewing obnoxiously on a piece of gum was Miranda Gardiner. That little bitch thought she was _soooo _cool because she's a year older than Katie and she goes to camp year round. All the rules stated that Miranda would now be the new head counselor, no matter how much Katie tried to argue.

Katie had hated her ever since.

"Hey, Katie!" Miranda exclaimed way too enthusiastically while sitting up in bed to smile at her. Katie just glared in return and trotted over to her bunk. "How has your year been?"

"Fine," Katie grumbled.

"Oh." Katie could feel Miranda's eyes watching her as she placed her luggage on the bottom bunk and unzipped it. "Well mine's been pretty good. There hasn't really been much action around camp or anything. Just some major drama with the Aphrodite cabin, as per usual." She saw Miranda smile a bit and just rolled her eyes.

As Katie got on her tip-toes to place her favorite teddy bear on her bunk, she noticed a heart-shaped note set on her pillow. With a tilt of her head, she set down the bear and grabbed the Valentine with gentle hands.

She sat down on the bottom bunk and opened up the note carefully. "What's that?" Miranda asked, but Katie just ignored her, focusing only on the small letters scrawled on the red card.

_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue,_

_I didn't start living,_

_Until I met you._

The poem left Katie smiling, and her cheeks were tinged with red. It was signed '_Your secret admirer_,' and Katie couldn't help but have her mind wander as to who it could possibly be. There weren't that many possibilities seeing as more than half of the campers were at home, going to school and what not. She just really hoped it wasn't one of those really ugly guys. That would suck. As her mind went spinning, Katie glanced up at Miranda who had gone back to her magazine.

"Yo, Gardiner," Katie said, making Miranda look up at her with raised eyebrows. "Do you know who put this here?" she asked, holding up the card hesitantly.

Miranda frowned and shook her head. "No. But when I was on my way here, I was almost positive I saw that new Apollo kid walk out."

"Anthony, right?"

"Andrew, I think."

"That's what I said." Katie rolled her eyes and sighed melodramatically. She gently folded the card in half and placed it in her pocket. "I gotta go," she said, standing up from the bunk and walking towards the door.

"Oh-Bye!" Miranda yelled after her but the door was already in the process of slamming shut.

* * *

"Boo!" Travis screamed as he hopped next to Katie, making her jump, almost flinging the marshmallow off of her stick.

"Gods, Stoll!" she exclaimed, hitting him on the shoulder, making him almost fall off the small log they sat on. His laugh rang out through the quiet night and Katie rolled her eyes, turning back to the fire and the burning marshmallow in front of her.

"Scared?" he asked with a smirk and raised eyebrows.

"You wish," she said with a smirk of her own.

"What? What kind of comeback is that?" Katie only laughed a bit in response. "Someone's awfully happy," Travis stated, trying to grab at the marshmallow as she brought it to her mouth. She smacked his hand away quickly.

"I could say the same thing about you."

Travis smirked widely. "I'm off of cabin arrest. Did you know that there are 132 tiles on the ceiling of the Hermes cabin? It's true. And the carpet is softer underneath the bunks. And the lightbulb that hangs in the corner flickers every 2 hours and 26 minutes. And you know Henry?" He nodded. "He doesn't only changes his underwear every few weeks. And-"

"I get it," Katie said, cutting him off with a smirk.

"So what about you? Good Valentine's Day?" He watched as she bit her lip and continued looking at the fire. She seemed to be debating in her head whether to tell him or not. Finally she turned to him and smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, I had a great Valentine's Day." Katie bit her lip and stared at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to say something rude and regrettful.

"Oooh!" Travis crooned. "Did Gardner get someone special?"

Katie's smile just broadened and she nodded her head a bit. "Yeah, actually." She hesitated before saying, "I actually have a secret admirer."

Travis smirked and looked down at his lap, shaking his head a little. "A secret admirer, huh?" At least Apollo Kid left the card there for her to find, even after he threatened to go back and tear it to shreds when Travis didn't pay him. "Do you know who it is?"

Katie paused and then nodded, her smile only growing. "Yeah. I think so."

Travis waited before asking, "And? Who is he?"

"I'm not gonna tell you," she said, picking at the marshmallow hesitantly.

"What?" Travis exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why not?"

"Because!"

"Because why? I'm like the only person at this camp who you don't hate. Just tell me." He bumped his shoulder against hers, making her laugh quietly.

"Fine. I'll tell you," Katie sighed, licking her fingers.

Travis smirked his famous smirk. "What's he like?"

Katie grinned, blushed, and looked down at her lap. "He's sweet and funny. And tall and handsome. He's really nice."

"Do I know him?" he asked with raised eyebrows and a smile. She must've known it was him. Who the hell else would it be? And who the hell else is 'sweet and funny' and 'tall and handsome'?

Katie giggled nervously. "I sure hope so."

He laughed, too. "Well-" he began but was cut off as Katie gasped loudly and hit him in the gut, shutting him up immediately.

"There he is," she said breathlessly.

"What!" Travis exclaimed, following her gaze over to none other than Apollo Kid. He was smirking cockily and joking around with a couple of his brothers. He flipped his hair and chewed on a chocolate bar, making Katie sigh romantically.

"Isn't he amazing?" she asked dreamily.

"No!" Travis guffawed. "He's anything but amazing! He's-He's-"

"I gotta go talk to him," Katie said immediately, standing up quickly and straightening her clothes. "How do I look? Do I look okay?" she asked Travis who just continued staring at her in confusion.

"What!" he repeated.

She took a deep breath. "I'll talk to you later, 'kay Stoll?" Katie asked

"But Katie-" he yelled after her, but she was gone. He watched sadly as she went up to Apollo Kid nervously while biting her lip and removing the Valentine from her pocket. As she talked animatedly, her hands moving as fast as her lips, Apollo Kid was smiling and nodding. Travis saw Katie stop talking, and she stared at him with raised eyebrows and expectant eyes. Apollo Kid smirked and glanced over at Travis.

Travis shook his head violently, practically begging him to say no. But he watched as Apollo Kid turned back to Katie, smiled a blinding smile, and nodded his head enthusiastically. He saw Katie giggled before wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.

Travis sighed and closed his eyes sadly. He lost it. He was _this freaking close_ and then he lost it. If only he had enough balls to write his name or actually ask her to be his Valentine face to face. If only he got a _chick _to put the card on Katie's bunk or actually paid Apollo Kid.

But no. He lost. Yet again.

Travis hated Valentine's Day.

* * *

Sorry this took a while but my laptop is FINALLY fixed and hopefully that was the last time it'll be broken. Also, sorry it's kinda sad at the ending there. I wanted to do something sweet but I just couldn't think of anything. I tried to get some actual Tratie in there so I had them somewhat flirting but that was really it. BUT! The next chapter? W? Will You Marry Me? Yeah. There'll be plenty of cute Tratie fluff in that one for ya!

Thank you oh so much for my fabulous beta, Chesty's Superbest Friend for always being amazing and great and dealing with my crazy update schedule! Love ya! Oh! And also thanks to The Optimistic Dreamer for being my 500th reviewer! You get *drumroll* . . . TWO SLIGHTLY USED ENERGIZER AA BATTERIES! Whew! Yeah! We're shouting! Yeah!

And I know the whole thing about Miranda Gardiner and the couselor business isn't exactly canon but I hated her as soon as RR metnioned her in the Lost Hero, as if Katie died in the war or didn't even exist at all. So I felt like I had to do something about it so we all know that Katie is still there and alive ahaha!

One last thing! Go check out my Tratie Thanksgiving special if you haven't already! Also, I don't know if all of you know this but I've completely cchanged both B and S so go read those if you haven't! :DD

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer was brought to you by the letter V. "**V**ery well!" **V**alerie, the **v**icious **V**ietnamese **v**alet, **v**ocalized while **v**igorously **v**acuuming the **v**ery **v**exatious carpet. "Cap'NCupcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Energizer batteries, **V**alentine's Day, or anything else she may have mentioned or quoted!"

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	23. W is for Whisk

When Travis came home from work and walked through the door of the kitchen, he was greeted by smells of all kinds. There was chocolate and sugar and gingerbread, oh my! It was like a party in his nose. He found his wife vigorously stirring a bowl. Strands of dark hair that had fallen out of her messy bun framed her face, and the apron sloppily tied around her waist was covered in flour. Katie was so into her work that she didn't even seem to notice Travis come through the door. That is until he tried to grab at a freshly-baked cookie. She immediately swung around, pointing her whisk viciously in his face.

"Don't you dare touch that cookie, Stoll, unless you want me to punch you in the mouth with my neck," Katie warned through clenched teeth. She had a crazy ass look in her eyes, making Travis back up a bit, hands up in self-defense.

"I'd actually kind of like to see that. How would you punch me . . . with your neck? I would be _extremely _impressed if you did that. Just saying." Even with a metal whisk covered in a green substance he couldn't exactly identify all up in his grill, Travis managed to sound as nonchalant as possible.

With a roll of her eyes and a heavy sigh, Katie turned back to the bowl in front of her and continued her vicious stirring. "I don't have time for your stupid, sarcastic comments right now, Travis."

"Then I won't say any more," he whispered, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently. Her whisking softened and she seemed to relax a bit in his hold. Travis pushed her hair to the side and kissed her neck gingerly. "What's with all the baking?" he asked, his lips tickling her skin.

Katie sighed once more and turned around in his arms. Staring up at him, she frowned. "The boys just told me an hour ago that they're having a bake sale tomorrow at school."

"So?" Travis asked, watching the rhythmic motions of her hands as she messed with his tie.

"So they're supposed to bring in three dozens cookies _each_. How the hell am I supposed to cook 108 cookies in three hours? It's ridiculous!" she exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Why isn't Mary helping you?" He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead.

Katie sighed once more and turned back to the cookie dough, using a spoon to scoop it up and plop it down onto the cookie sheet next to the bowl. "She wouldn't get off that stupid phone of hers. Apparently there's some 'supermegafoxyawesomehot' new guy who Regina won't stop talking about." She rolled her eyes and continued with her baking, placing some M&M's atop each pile of dough.

"Does this boy have a name?" Travis asked, eyebrows furrowed in anger.

Katie rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter, Travis, okay? I still have 6 dozen more cookies to bake and listening to the Glee Christmas album can only pass the time so fast." As soon as each cookie had exactly three M&M's - none of the same color on one cookie, of course - Katie nodded proudly and opened up the oven, sending a wave of heat across her face. Once the timer was on and the cookies were in, she stood back up and turned around. The sight in front of her made her freeze.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked as Travis tied an apron around his waist.

"I'm gonna help you," he said, lifting his head to stare at her with a smile. "Cuz that's the kind of husband I am."

"Oooh, no, no, no," Katie said, shaking her head and moving back to the counter. She scooped a bowl of cookie dough on to a sheet of wax paper and began rolling it out slowly. "You are _not _helping me bake these cookies."

"And why is that?"

"Do you not remember the whole Thanksgiving fiasco a few years back?" she asked with raised eyebrows while still rolling out the dough. "You can't cook for shit, my dear. And you're just going to distract me the entire time. I'd rather just do this by myself."

"But-"

"No."

"But-"

"Travis."

"But-"

Katie's head shot up and she glared at him angrily. "Out," she seethed, pointing towards the door. With a melodramatic groan and a roll of his eyes, Travis stomped out the door. Katie sighed, thankful for the silence and continued with her cooking. That silence didn't last that long though. Travis came back through the door with his chin up, refusing to meet her eyes.

"I don't want your stupid apron," he said angrily, tearing the pink cloth off his waist and throwing it on the floor. As he stomped out, Katie turned back to the dough, rolling it a few more times to make it the perfect thickness. Just as she was about to get the Christmas tree cookie cutter, the door slammed open once more.

"I forgot my phone!" Travis declared, lumbering into the kitchen haughtily before running out once more. Katie didn't even go back to the cookies, knowing that he'd walk back in at least once more. Just as she had predicted, Travis barged into the kitchen mere seconds later.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sick and tired of your attitude today," he began, vigorously nodding his head with a determined expression etched on his face. "All I wanted to do was help and - _yay!_" he squealed, sounding very much like a small girl as Katie held out the cookie cutter for him to grab.

"You're cutting these out and you're _only _cutting these out," she ordered. "_Do not _cut your fingers off. Ya got that?"

"Yes ma'am," he said with a toothy smile, grabbing the cookie cutter eagerly and hopping about like a puppy.

As they baked in silence, Katie kept glancing Travis's way. She was praying to every god and goddess she could think of that he didn't mess those cookies up. She didn't know what she'd do then. There wouldn't be enough time to make more. Maybe the boys could just take the messed up ones anyway. I mean, that teacher deserved some dog poop cookies, making Katie bake nine dozen of them. Ridiculous.

"Finished!" Travis suddenly announced, bringing Katie out of her thoughts. She went around the island to look at the raw cookies. They weren't _terrible_, exactly.

With a sigh, Katie grabbed a bowl of small candies. "They're good enough, I guess. Now can you handle decorating them?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed excitedly, grabbing for the bowl with eager hands.

"You put one yellow one at the top like a star and three other ones all over the rest of the cookie. Okay?" Travis nodded his head vigorously before taking a candy from the bowl and popping it in his mouth. "Travis!" Katie yelled.

"What?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"You can't eat the candies!"

"_Come on_," he groaned. "It's just _one _candy. Live a little. Eat one, too." Travis dipped his hand in the bowl and brought it up, meaning to pop a small candy in his wife's mouth. But, no. Instead he accidentally dropped his hand in the flour dish, bringing it up and flicking it into her face.

They stood there in silence, both of their mouths slightly agape in shock. "Katie," Travis began quietly and slowly, "I am _so _sorry. I didn't mean to, I swear."

She glared at him, her nostrils flaring and her cheeks flaming. "Really?" she asked. "You didn't mean to?"

Travis shook his head. "No," he whispered.

"Oh. So I guess if I go like this," she said, grabbing an egg, tapping it against the counter, bringing it above Travis's head, and opening it, letting the yolk and egg white run down his hair, "it's perfectly okay. Because I didn't mean to."

"You just cracked an egg on my head," Travis stated.

"Why thank you Captain Obvious."

"Really, Senorita Sarcastic? Really?" He then placed his hand atop his head, and scooped as much of the egg gunk into his hand as possible.

"Don't you-" began Katie, but she was too late. Travis plopped the raw egg on her hair and watched as it dripped on to her face.

He shrugged. "Whoops. Didn't mean to."

From there, it was full on war. They were throwing everything they could at each other. From eggs to flour to sugar to butter. It was madness, sheer madness.

But then Travis grabbed for a cookie.

"Travis. I swear to the gods. If you touch those cookies-"

But he did worse than touch the cookies. He did worse than throwing the cookies. He did worse than crumbling up the cookies and tossing the crumbs to the floor.

He. Ate. The cookie.

Katie dropped the bottle of vanilla she was holding to the floor and seemed to whimper a bit. "You . . . You just ate a cookie."

Travis's triumphant smile faded as he saw the sadness etched on her face. "Oh, Katie. I'm sorry. I'll-I'll make another cookie or-or something," he said, running around the island to come and put his arms around her. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and sniffled. He had no idea this whole baking thing had so much affect on her.

"I promise I'll never ever eat another one of those cookies ever again. And I'll do anything to make it up to you. I am _so_ sorry." She started shaking in his arms and he stared down at her disbelievingly. "Are-Are you crying?"

Katie then lifted her head to stare up at him, a smile on her face. "Wha-" he began, confusion in his eyes. He was quickly cut off as an egg was smashed atop his head.

Katie said with a laugh, "You are _never _cooking with me again."

* * *

Eh. . . I've written better. And if you didn't get a review reply (probably because you didn't review!) you might be confused cuz I promised W is for Will You Marry Me? Yeah. Well I changed it. That whole thing is actually going to be it's own one-shot, one of those 5/1 kind ya know. Like 'The Five Times Travis Proposed and the One Time She Actually Said Yes.' And yes. That happens to be the title. And I know I still have a billion reviews to reply to, and I promise that they WILL BE REPLIED TO. Promise. Oh! And has anyone else noticed that they throw shit at each other a lot? There's B and O and U and now W. That's _awesome._

One last thing! **It's kinda important! **So listen up! Uh, I was kinda nominated (for **Best Romance **and **Most Humorous**) in the **Verita Awards **and I just now realized that people can vote. And the last day to vote is like tomorrow. Ahaha! Yeah. I'm that cool. Anyhoot, I would greatly, GREATLY appreciate if you guys could go to **fanmortals dot webs dot com** and go **vote** for **Easy as 1, 2, 3.** If I win, I **promise** to actually **update faster** and finish the damn thing. Cross my heart. :) Thank ya my dears! If that link thing doesn't work, just go to Google, type in **fanmortals **and it should be one of the first links. Then click on **vote **and it's pretty self-explanatory from there. Well, I hope so.

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter W. **W**illiam, the **w**hite and **w**ispy **w**asp **w**histler **w**ho loves to **w**rite the **w**ords "**W**anky, **w**anky!" knows that Cap'NCupcake does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Christmas (AHA!), Glee (cuz I know I quoted it . . . multiple times. If found you get . . . OLD FRENCH FRY NUBS FOUND IN THE BACK OF MY DAD'S CAR!), A Very Potter Musical (**w**hich I also quoted!), or anything else I may have mentioned.

Lather, rinse, review! And vote! Cuz I'd really like that!

:) Jordan


	24. X is for X Mas

By now I think you all know how much I hate putting these things up here but this is kinda important. First, I wanted to say THANK YOU ALL SO FREAKING MUCH! According to a bunch of people, Easy as 1, 2, 3 won for Best Romance in the Veritas Awards. It really means a lot to me knowing that people actually like my stuff that much. So thank you, thank you, thank you. So, so much. I couldn't have done this without you.

Second, this chapter is actually a songfic. I know I don't do many of those cuz they involve really listening to and understanding music and all that jazz and I usually completely suck at that. But then Glee (Blaine and Kurt, to be exact) sang a cover of Baby, It's Cold Outside and I. Was. In. LOVE! And not only because two ridiculously hot gay guys sang it together, just dying to declare their undying love for each other. Mostly because the songs a classic and they just made it sound even more amazing then normal. So the point of all this is, if you want to like listen to the song before/while you read it, I HIGHLY HIGHLY suggest listening to the Glee cover. It's amazing. You shoud watch the video too because it is just so . . . Ooooh, swoon. You really can't get any hotter than those two. NOW! Read away my loves!

* * *

An annoying buzzing noise interrupted Katie and Travis. Katie's eyes popped open as she broke their kiss, glancing over to her vibrating phone set on the coffee table. The armrest of the lumpy couch was uncomfortable under Katie's neck but she hardly noticed as Travis began nibbling on her collar bone, sending chills down her spine and a moan from the back of her throat.

She completely forgot about her phone as Travis brought his lips back to hers. He tasted like candy canes and his hair was like silk under her fingertips. Katie was so intent on trying to lift his shirt over his head, that she hardly noticed her phone buzzing yet again. She tried breaking off the kiss once more to grab the phone, but Travis grabbed her hand and pinned it above her head.

"I have to get-" she started breathlessly, but he just shook his head.

"Forget it," Travis mumbled before cupping her cheek and kissing her once more.

After just a few minutes, the phone vibrated once more, making them both groan in frustration. Katie broke off the kiss and stared at him with raised eyebrows. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Travis sat up on the couch and waved his hand about, motioning for her to get the phone. Katie sat up with a blush and handed him his shirt before picking up her cell phone with a slightly breathless, "Hello?"

Travis watched as she pulled as the small threads that were sticking out on the edges of the holes on her jeans. "Yeah, yeah. I was just in the check out line. I didn't want to be rude and answer my phone all loud and what not in front of everyone. . . Yeah, yeah. I'll drive safe, I promise. . . Love you, too." As she stood up, Katie closed the phone and tucked it into her back pocket. "I gotta head home," she said sadly as she stared down at Travis.

He got to his feet and grabbed her hands, pulling her tiny body against his. "I don't understand why you can't stay for just a _little _bit longer," Travis whined, sticking his bottom lip out like a small child.

"I can only be at the store buying eggnog for so long, my dear," Katie said with a smile, stepping on her tip-toes to peck him on the nose.

"Tell me again why you don't just tell your dad that we're dating," he pleaded. Katie held on to his hand and dragged him with her to the bathroom so she could fix her mussed hair.

"After the whole 'Oh, I'm Trevor Scoll' incident a few years back, he'll never trust you again," Katie said, while grabbing Travis's comb from the medicine cabinet and brushing it through her hair quickly. "If I tell him you're my boyfriend and you are indeed _not Trevor_ Scoll, he'll be pissed at both of us for lying to him. He _cannot _find out about you."

Travis sighed and followed Katie out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. "I say we just tell him about us and deal with the consequences," he said with a firm nod, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to him. "All this sneaking around is so tiring. And then we'd have even _more _time together."

As he bent down for a kiss, Katie twisted out of his arms and grabbed her purse. "Why yes we'd have all the time in the world to be with each other if we were both dead. Now I really need to get home, Travis. My dad's stuck at my dorm right now, probably sitting awkwardly on the couch while my roommate watches the Nightmare Before Christmas and sings every single song at the top of her lungs," she told him while walking to the coat closet. Just as she reached for the handle, Travis jumped in front of her.

"And if you told him about us, he would probably be sitting awkwardly on my couch while the two of us watch a Very Glee Christmas for the 17th time in a row and sing every single song at the top of our lungs."

"I am not telling him about us," Katie said clearly, pushing him out of the way and wrenching the door open.

Travis sighed melodramatically. "Fine, fine. Have your entire life be a secret. Be the new Hannah Montana of New York and live your stupid double life." He watched as she rolled her eyes and put her arms through each sleeve of her jacket.

"I'm not telling him," she said in a sing-song voice, buttoning up the warm coat and pulling a beanie with ear flaps on her head.

"I know, I know. Just," Travis started, snaking his arms around her waist once more, "do you have to go so soon?"

Katie smiled up at him before pecking him chastely on the lips. "Trust me, if it were up to me, I'd never leave. But it's not up to me and I was supposed to be home like five minutes ago with a carton of nasty ass eggnog which I _still _need to go to the store to get, so I really need to go." She gave him one more quick kiss before heading for the front door. She only made it a few steps before Travis caught her arm and pulled her back to him. "What?" she asked heavily with a sigh.

"You can't leave," he said simply. Katie may have been a little pissed but the slightly clueless look on Travis's face was precious.

"And why is that?"

"Because it's . . . it's cold outside." She couldn't help the smile that lit her face when Travis nodded his head triumphantly as if very impressed by his answer.

"That's what a coat's for, Travis," Katie said with a smirk. "I'll be fine. See, I'm even wearing a hat."

"Oh, I'll take that for ya," he exclaimed, grabbing the puffy black ball on the top of said hat and pulling the cap off of her head. She gasped and yelled at him, trying to jump and get it from where he held it over his head. "Look at that! You're hair looks swell."

"Give me my hat, Travis!" Katie yelled between gritted teeth as she jumped and leaped, trying to reach it. Why the hell did he have to be so tall? As she continued straining for the hat, he laughed at her misery. And that's when the plan came to her mind. Katie stopped jumping and instead cupped Travis's face in her hands.

"What're you-" he began but was cut off as Katie kissed him, soft and sweet yet hard and hot. Travis was so distracted that he lowered his arms to pull her closer, completely forgetting about the black beanie clutched in his hand. Katie, however, had just remembered it more, if that was possible. She quickly ripped the hat from his hands and ran away from him. "Aww!" Travis moaned as she cackled gleefully across the room. "You got me! You got me."

Katie laughed once more. "Now," she began, pulling the hat back on her head, "I need to get going. I'll see you tomorrow when I go to work."

"But you don't have a job," Travis stated simply, walking across the room and standing in front of her.

"Exactly," she said before standing on her tip toes and pecking him quickly on the lips. "Now I've gotta go, my love. Text me, 'kay?"

As he watched her go, Travis started panicking. She couldn't go. She just couldn't go. "Wait," he exclaimed, running to her and blocking her path to the door yet again. Katie sighed and stared up at him.

"What now, Travis?"

"I . . . Please stay. You could die out there. No lie." Travis firmly shook his head, face completely serious.

"Really?" Katie asked. "I could die?"

He nodded his head proudly. "Yep. It's so freaking cold that after a while you're just going to get pneumonia and then I will have to sit by your bedside and sing to you while you die a slow, painful death."

She sighed and shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "I only have to walk down the stairs and a few yards to my car. I think I'm good to go. Now, move."

Travis grabbed her hands as she tried pushing him away. "You'll freeze out there, Katie. And the snow's up to your knees! You'll be driving and driving and then a deer will come out of nowhere and you'll swerve to avoid it and then end up slipping on the ice and running into a nearby rendering plant." He nodded. "It could happen."

"Yeah because there are all sorts of random deer running into the streets of New York City." Travis stuck his tongue out at her sarcastic tone. "I'm sorry, Travis. You know I need to get back home."

"But-" he started, seriously looking like he was in pain. "I . . . Please." He then gave up on trying to convince Katie with words. He resorted to kissing her instead.

Travis leaned down, bringing their lips together. Katie seemed to gasp a bit as she closed her eyes and brought her hands to his hair, pulling lightly on the curls. Her mouth tasted of butterscotch, and Travis ran his hands down her body, as if trying to memorize every curve and bend.

After a few minutes but what felt like hours, they broke apart. Travis rested his forehead on Katie's and smiled. "Please," he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

Katie sighed and rolled her eyes, but did not move from his arms. "I guess it _is_ kinda cold outside."

* * *

Once again, thank you thank you thank you for the votes. You don't know how much they mean to me. Just so y'all know, I'm planning on making a 'The After Christmas Day Special' for the holidays. Just like the Thanksgiving one, it'll be posted AFTER Christmas and involve the trouble with Katie's dad and the rest of her family.

I've just realized that this is the 3rd to last chapter. Are you as sad as I am? BUT don't fret my dear readers! I'm planning either a sequel type thing that'll be more focused on the entire Stoll family with all the kids and their married life and what not or a more actiony quest type fic. I still have a bunch of the details to work out with that one though, but I'm sure it'll be awesome and Tratie-filled. It's really up to you guys.

I also just realized that I need an idea for Y. Like, really badly. Absolutely nothing to work with . . . so yeah. Help, please?

Oh! And thanks to Ketharine Wolcott for giving me the title, even though I already had it from the beginning ahaha! I still wanted to say thanks one more time for your awesome review that should really be a model for what I wished every review looked like ahaha! :PP

Hope you all have a merry Christmas and what not! Happy holidays and all that jazz. And happy Festivus cuz it's the 23rd. If you don't know what Festivus is then eff you! :DD

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to you by the letter X. . . . Nope. I'm not even going to try. I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Christmas (I wish! Santa wouldn't be a jolly old man, but a sexy, bisexual, sparkly Aisan warlock instead. I'm in love.), Baby It's Cold Outside, Glee, the Nightmare Before Christmas, or anything else I may have mentioned. **X**ylophone. There. Happy? I mentioned one.

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


	25. Y is for Yucky

Travis hated sick people. They disgusted him. Like, a lot. With the snot and the coughing and the sneezing and the shaking and the moaning and the puking and their laziness (I mean, really. I know you're sick and you're busy hacking up giant balls of mucus every five minutes or so but does it really take _that _much energy to get up and go brush your teeth to get rid of that rancid breath of yours that smells like ass?), it was just too much.

And just plain disgusting.

So when he heard the violent and nasty, nasty sounds of someone puking when he entered Katie's dorm room that morning after a frantic text of "Help! I need you! :(((", he was extremely tempted to just turn around and leave right then.

"Katie?" Travis called out hesitantly, walking towards the bathroom slowly. The dorm seemed to be empty. An episode of Family Feud absently played on the TV in front of the couch which was completely covered in an assortment of blankets which was scattered with balled up Kleenex. Suddenly the loud hacking and puking noises returned. Travis took a deep breath before stepping through the doorway.

There sat Katie. Her hair was in a messy bun and she was dressed in PJams three sizes too big. Her face was flushed as she rested her forehead against the cold toilet seat and flushed the bowl without even looking up.

"Hey," Travis said quietly, trying to hide the disgusted look from his face.

Katie turned her head to stare at him, a small smile gracing her lips. "Finally," she sighed, sitting up and holding out a hand so he could help her stand.

Travis's stomach flopped as he stared at that hand. From his own experience, Travis knew how soft those hands were - like, really really soft - and he knew that those fingers could work some serious magic. The fingernails were covered in chipped yellow and pink nail polish, and he could tell that Katie had been stressing lately as whenever she stressed, she tended to bite her cuticles. The hand itself was fantastic. What was on the hand wasn't nearly as amazing however.

The thing Travis hated more than sick people was being sick himself.

It didn't happen much. He made it his mission to stay away from all that were sick, so he wouldn't get their illness. Hera probably totally hated him for practically living in her cabin during the winter months at camp.

But this was Katie. This was different. This was the girl he had fallen madly in love with the moment he met her. He was just going to have to suck it up and deal with it.

So with a deep breath, Travis closed his eyes and grabbed her hand (covered in millions of nasty, nasty, sick germs) pulling her to her feet with all his might.

When she got to her feet, Katie stumbled a little, dizzy from the sudden movement. Travis winced slightly when she grabbed on to his sweatshirt for support and leaned into him heavily. Breathing the same air as her was one thing, but he got over it. The touching was almost crossing the line, but he dealt. He even sort of liked it when she nestled her head in the crook of his neck and they just stood there in each others' arms.

But then she coughed.

Right on to his neck.

It took all of Travis's willpower not to start crying.

"H-How 'bout we get you to the couch?" he stuttered, trying not to push her away from him too fast. She nodded silently and padded out of the bathroom. Travis let out a sigh of relief as soon as she was out of sight and immediately ran to the sink. Snatching up a washcloth from the cupboard, he drenched it in water before rubbing at his neck viciously until it was red.

"Are you getting me a wet washcloth for my head?" he heard Katie call.

Travis turned the water off and ringed out the small towel. "Uh," he stammered. "I sure am." With one last final scrub, he rushed to the couch but not before taking a deep breath of fresh, only slightly contaminated air.

Travis held out the washcloth limply. With a smile, Katie accepted it, nestling deeper into her blankets and placing it on her forehead. He stood there awkwardly and watched. Part of him wanted to go get more blankets and medicine and help her. The other part wanted to run from the room all the way back home where he could take a really nice, long, hot shower with lots of soap.

"Do you think you could put Cars on for me?" Katie asked, bringing Travis out of his thoughts. She stared up at him through her eyelashes with wide eyes. He wondered how even with chapped lips and messy hair and a runny nose, she could still make that sexy. Travis nodded his head before popping the movie in with a sigh. Katie had probably touched that DVD case and the open button on the DVD player. He shuddered.

"There you go," he said shakily, nodding a bit and standing back up. Travis didn't move as the disc started up and the previews flashed upon the screen.

Katie glanced up at him warily. "Well aren't you going to sit down?" she asked, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows. She sat up and placed the washcloth on the coffee table before bringing her knees to her chest to make room for him.

"Uh," Travis stuttered, trying to think of some way to let her down easy. With those dark eyes and those pouty lips, how the hell could he do that? "O-Okay." He nodded and sat down on the opposite side of the couch, as far away from his girlfriend as possible.

Katie glared at him angrily from her seat. He pointedly avoided her gaze, only having eyes for the DVD menu. There was no way in hell he was going to touch that remote. Can you imagine how many germs would be on that? Ew. No. Gross.

"_What _is your problem?" Katie exclaimed. Travis dared a glance in her direction but regretted it immediately. The fierce look in her eyes made him cringe.

"I-I don't have a problem," Travis mumbled, looking back at the TV screen once again. He could just imagine the signature "bitch, please" look he was probably missing out on right then.

"Bull shit!" she said loudly. "You're completely ignoring me!"

Travis shrugged, still avoiding eye contact. "I wouldn't say I'm _completely _ignoring you..."

"You're disgusted by me, aren't you?" Katie asked, ignoring his comment. "Aren't you?"

"I don't know if disgusted is the right word..." After a few silent seconds, Travis glanced back up at her cautiously. Katie stared at him, her mouth slightly agape and not just because she couldn't breathe out her nose.

"This is amazing," she muttered under her breath to no one in particular. "My own boyfriend is disgusted by me."

"I said I wasn't disgusted!" Travis insisted. "It's just . . . I really hate sick people," he whispered.

"You... What?" Katie exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief.

"I hate sick people. They're just always puking and sneezing and moaning and groaning and gods! They're so annoying!" Katie glared at him, eyebrows furrowed in anger. "I mean- _you're _not annoying!" His voice softened and he averted his eyes a bit. "Well, not yet anyways..."

"I can't believe this," Katie mumbled to herself once more. Travis was getting worried that this sickness was starting to really mess with her mind. Nobody talked to themselves that much. At least not out loud.

"Really?" Travis asked. "I thought I actually made it pretty obvious. I mean, why did you think I spent so many nights in Hera's cabin during the winter months at camp?"

Katie could vaguely remember going to camp over Winter Break and seeing Travis sneaking out of Cabin 2 every morning. She had always thought that it was just Travis, being his slutty self by sleeping around with some girl in a virgin goddess's cabin, no less. When she heard that he spent the nights alone, she made up her own conclusions. "I always thought you just had a weird fetish for peacocks. You have always liked Katy Perry. Plus, always being stuck in a cabin filled to the brim, I figured it would be pretty hard for you to . . . you know . . . _enjoy _yourself. Have fun with the flick of a wrist. Tame the tiger. Chop down the morning wood. Ma-"

"I get it," Travis interrupted with a small smile, holding up a hand. "And, just for your information, peacocks do nothing for me. I'm really more one for donkeys." He raised his eyebrows suggestively and dropped his voice to a tone he hoped sounded sexy. It just made Katie laugh.

"A donkey?"

"Yeah... That's Demeter's like animal thing, right?"

Katie shook her head, a small smile on her dry, chapped lips. "No."

"Am I close?"

"Not even. Demeter doesn't really have a specific symbolic animal, but it's sometimes depicted as a pig, a lion, or a snake."

"Well that's ridiculous," Travis stated, shaking his head a bit. "None of those have _anything_ to do with agriculture. A donkey would be a much better sacred animal."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah because everyone uses donkeys in agriculture." Katie shook her head and rearranged the blankets around her.

"They do!" exclaimed Travis, nodding his head and watching her movements carefully. He hesitated before speaking again. "Don't they?"

"Sure," Katie said with a smirk and a roll of her eyes. "And I'm also sure that Demeter would just love to know that whenever you see a donkey, you think of her."

"Well I'd rather be called a donkey than a pig. Just sayin'!"

Katie found herself smiling at the goofy smirk Travis sent her. He looked so adorable in his bright sweatshirt and basketball shorts. His hair looked messy, as per usual, with his ears sticking out a bit on the sides. His smile brought out the one small dimple on his right cheek, and his eyes glowed. He was just so cute that Katie couldn't help but lean forward a bit to capture his lips with hers.

When Travis flinched away, however, Katie's smile was quickly replaced with a frown and she immediately remembered why she was mad at him. With a glare and a loud, annoyed, "Hmmph!" she folded her arms and turned away from him.

"Katie!" Travis groaned, placing a hand on her shoulder which she instantly shrugged off.

"Don't touch me! You don't wanna get sick now do you?" she asked angrily over her shoulder, her tone sarcastic and rude.

He sighed. "Katie," he said softly, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. She flicked his hand away.

"Nope," she exclaimed, shaking her head and refusing to look at him."You're disgusted by me, Travis, just admit it."

Travis hesitated before answering. "Well, yeah. A little bit," he stated with a small shrug and a nod. Katie gasped and turned around quickly to smack him on the shoulder. "Ow! What did I do now?"

"You're never supposed to tell a girl that they _disgust _you!" she yelled, waving her arms around in exaggeration.

"But you told me to admit it," he said slowly, staring at Katie as if she was the one being stupid.

She rolled her eyes before grabbing for a tissue and blowing her nose. "Yeah," she said, purposefully throwing her newly used Kleenex near Travis, making him flinch away in disgust, "and that means you're supposed to make up some crap about how I'll always be beautiful to you, no matter what."

"But that would be lying," Travis said nonchalantly, flicking the tissue off the couch where it tumbled to the floor. He crinkled his nose in disgust and shuddered a bit.

"So?" Katie cried out. "You lie _all the time_!"

"But when we first got together," Travis reasoned with a nod, "you said that you wanted our relationship to be built off trust and honesty, that we should never lie to each other."

"I was lying when I said that!" she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest and turning away from him once more.

Travis sighed. "Katie," he said softly, scooting closer to her on the couch and placing a hand on her ankle. She, of course, scooted farther away. "There has to be some way for me to make up for this."

Katie shook her head persistently, pursing her lips and refusing to look at him.

Just as Travis was about to throw in the towel, Katie sat up straighter and smiled brightly. "Actually," she began, a twinkle in her eye that he couldn't exactly make out, "there is _one _thing you could do."

Travis sat up straighter as well. "Yeah?" he asked anxiously. He hated it when Katie was mad at him. You'd think he'd be used to it by now, that it wouldn't affect him, but every time those brown eyes refused to look his way or that smile refused to show in his presence, he couldn't help but get a bit depressed.

"Yeah," she said with a seductive smirk. Travis got a sinking feeling in his stomach when she leaned forward a bit and whispered, "Kiss me."

"Wha-What?" he stammered, scooting back to his original seat.

"Kiss me right now, on the lips, and I won't be mad at you anymore."

Travis now understood that glint in her eyes. It was pure _evil_.

He found it kinda hot, actually. She should be evil more often.

"So?" Katie asked, scooting forward and tucking her feet underneath her so her knees hit his thigh, and then leaning into his personal space. "You gonna kiss me, or what?"

"I-I can't," he stuttered, shaking his head and looking away from her lips - her red, red lips that were chapped and dry and yet still looked _oh, so very _kissable. "Germs... Sick... No..."

She ran a finger down his jaw to his chin where she turned his head and gaze back towards her. "Come on," she said softly, bringing their faces mere inches away from each other. "You know you want to."

Travis tried resisting, he really did, but Katie was right. He did want to. He wanted to very badly. Within seconds, their lips connected, tongues twining, hands exploring.

He let out a moan as Katie pulled on his curls. She broke the kiss just long enough to pull off Travis's shirt and discard it to the floor. Just as she was about to go in for another kiss, she felt the familiar tingle in her nose and the watering of her eyes. She tried to stop it, she really did, but then Travis opened his eyes to see what was the hold up and she sneezed.

On his face.

And neck.

And chest.

Travis whimpered.

* * *

"I really am sorry," Katie said for the umpteenth time, sitting on top of the fuzzy, pink toilet seat cozy while Travis stood in the steamy shower next to her. "I can't control my sneezes."

Travis didn't reply. The only noise coming from the shower beside her was the sound of the water viciously hitting the tiled floor and the opening of a shampoo cap. Just as Katie was about to yell at him to not use all of her conditioner or she would kill him, she pursed her lips. She couldn't yell at him. Not right now. The sucky part about dating Travis Stoll was that he could be even more stubborn than her at times.

After a minute of silence, Katie tried talking to him once more. "I hate it when you're mad at me, you know? It sucks."

There was a pause before Travis spoke. "I'm not mad at you."

Katie couldn't help her smile. "You're not?"

The fruity smell of her shampoo suddenly filled the small bathroom, mixing with the steam from the hot shower and making the room almost suffocating.

"No," he answered simply.

"But you are upset." His silence was answer enough. "I wish there was some way I could make you feel better..." Her words would have made any stranger laugh. Katie was the sick one. Why was she here, sitting on an uncomfortable toilet seat, asking if there was something she could do to help her perfectly healthy, extremely moody and slightly temperamental boyfriend?

The sparkly shower curtain cracked open a bit and Travis stuck out his wet, sudsy head to look at Katie pathetically. "There is ... one thing," he mumbled quietly, looking at the floor and frowning adorably, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Katie grinned and crossed her arms. "Yes?"

Looking up at her with wide eyes and his own famous smirk, he raised an eyebrow and asked quietly, "Join me?"

Her grin grew and a nice pink color spread to her cheeks. "I suppose I could do that."

_3 days later..._

Travis sat on the comfy couch of Katie's dorm room, covered in blankets and watching Glee reruns on her small TV. He could hardly breathe out his nose and the giant bowl sitting next to him still smelled disgusting from the last time he puked in it. Used tissues littered the coffee table in front of him, and every time he tried to sing along with Rachel or harmonize with the Warblers, he would get a terrible coughing fit, meaning they would have to sing alone. His head was pounding, and he was hot and yet so cold at the same time. His stomach would not stop hurting, and he even felt dizzy at times.

But then Katie would come in and feed him soup or take his temperature or rub Vicks on his chest or just sit down and cuddle and watch an episode with him.

And suddenly, being sick wasn't actually half bad.

* * *

I'm not gonna lie. I hate this chapter. Like, a lot. I don't know why it's just . . . bleh! It was supposed to be cute and fluffy and sweet and then it just went downhill from there and turned into . . . THIS. Bleh! Sorry about that. And the wait. Yeah, I'm REALLY SORRY about the wait. I just felt about as crappy as this chapter. So really crappy. I can't tell you enough how sorry I am. And that's an understatement, too. I just feel terrible about it. But you know what really motivated me to keep writing this crappy chapter? All of your guys' reviews. Like, seriously? 60 reviews for one chapter? 60 REVIEWS! Holy shit! Maybe I should take breaks like these more often . . . Ahaha! No no! Jkiddles, loveys! I couldn't do that to you guys again. You'd kill me. Seriously. I'm pretty sure there were a couple death threats in those 60 reviews. Apparently I've also been killing others by not updating? Yeah. Sorry about that. Hopefully you got that fixed. Went to a doctor or something.

Oh... I just realized... There's only one chapter left... A moment of silence, please...

... Mmmkay! Still sad, but whatevs!

I think my favorite part about writing Tratie is making Travis the BIGGEST Gleek/Gleetard EVER! He also has a giant mancrush on Mark Salling. He totally writes crappy Puckleberry fanfiction all the time and there's even the few Puck/Finn slash fics thrown in there, too, just for fun... He totally makes online petitions and stuff all the time, trying to get Puck more solos and stuff on the show. He also didn't like how big of a manslut Puck was, so he made a petition about that, too. And that is why Puck is now dating Lauren and in the Celebacy Club and stuff. Yep. All Travis's doing. He totally has all the CD's and has memorized every song. He totally forced Katie to buy him tickets to GleeLive! the minute they went on sale. He was at work at the time. He's also totally in love with Santana and was balling like a baby during Sexy when she told Brittany how she felt. He totally hates Karofsky but he has a secret obsession with Kurtofsky friendship but OH HELL TO THE NO is anyone going to get in the way of Klaine. He totally squealed like a girl during the kliss... He also bought a Dalton Academy blazer online and is totally gonna go as a Warbler for Halloween...

Welcome to my head!

**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer is brought to **y**ou by the letter Y (holy hell! I haven't done one of these in forever!). "**Y**axley!" **Y**olanda **y**elled at the **Y**early **Y**ellow **Y**acht Festival. "Feed **y**our **y**ak those **y**ummy **y**ams and **y**odel while telling him that **y**oung story about how Cap'NCupcake doesn't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Glee, Cars, Vicks, or anything else she may have mentioned!"

Lather, rinse, review!

:) Jordan


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